'T'RAINING  employees;  giving  the  workman  every  mechanical  advantage  to  relieve  fatigue  and 
*•  multiply  results;  rousing  the  team  spirit  among  the  men;  these  are  perhaps  the  three  most  sig- 
nificant movements  in  man-handling.  Below  is  one  of  the  evening  training  classes  in  automobile 
instruction  in  the  Hupp  Motor  works.  Noon  hour  at  the  Allis-Chalmers  works  is  shown  at  the  top. 
ID  the  middle  appears  the  famous  chassis  assembling  mechanism  at  the  Ford  Motor  works,  which 
cut  the  assembling  time  per  car  from  12  hours  28  minutes  to  1  hour  33  minutes 


SHAW  FACTORY  MANAGEMENT  SERIES 


LABOR 


HIRING  WORKERS— TEACHING  MEN  TO  DO  BETTER 

WORK— WAGE-PAYMENT  PLANS  AND  HOW  TO 

USE  THEM— KEEPING  WORKERS  FIT 


A.  W.  SHAW  COMPANY 

CHICAGO  NEW  YORK 

LONDON 

1821 


TEE  SERIES:  BUILDINGS  AND  UPKEEP;  MACHINERY 
AND  EQUIPMENT;  MATERIALS  AND  SUPPLIES;  LABOR; 
OPERATION  AND  COSTS;  EXECUTIVE  CONTROL. 


Copyright  1915,  by 

A.  W.  SHAW  COMPANY 

Entered  at  Stationers'  Hall,  London 

PBINTfcID  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMEBICA 


CONTENTS 


I— BUILDING  UP  THE  FORCE 

PAGE 
I    LAYING  DOWN  INDUSTRIAL  POLICIES          .        .        .        11 

Why  personalities  clash  in  the  factory  organization  (11) — 
Taking  an  industrial  audit  (12) — The  six  kinds  of  personal 
relationships  in  every  business  (13) — Getting  at  the  causes 
of  ill  will  between  workers  and  management  (15) — How  an 
audit  is  used  to  correct  policies  and  in  planning  ahead  (23) 
— Three  principles  for  handling  labor  problems  (23) 

II    HIRING  AND  ADVANCING  WORKMEN  .        ...        25 

How  poor  selection  of  workers  cost  one  manufacturer  his 
success  (25) — Where  and  how  to  get  good  men  (26) — Two 
classes  of  workers  (27) — Labor  supply  for  emergencies  (30) — 
How  working  conditions  affect  employment  (31) 

III  PICKING  THE  BEST  MAN  FOR  THE  JOB        ...        32 

Practical  methods  for  choosing  men  (33) — Qualities  to  look 
for  in  hiring  (33) — What  to  do  about  application  blanks  (36) — 
Investigating  men's  records  (39) — Discovering  applicants* 
abilities  and  placing  men  where  they  can  do  their  best  (40) 

IV  STARTING  MEN  RIGHT 41 

What  information  a  new  employee  has  a  right  to  expect  from 
the  management  (41) — Employees'  handbooks  (42) — In- 
structing and  training  new  men  (44) 

V    RECORDS  THAT  GAGE  WORK  AND  WORTH  .        .        48 

Organizing  an  employment  department  (48) — How  one  com- 
pany keeps  records  of  its  12,000  employees  (50) — Scoring  an 
employee's  output  (57) — Checking  on  an  applicant's  physical 
condition  (58) — Keeping  books  on  the  worth  of  workmen  (61) 

II— TEACHING  MEN  TO  DO 
BETTER  WORK 

VI    THE  WAY  TO  WORK  WITH  MEN 65 

Rewards  that  make  for  contentment  (65) — Workers'  good 
will  is  necessary  to  make  efficiency  systems  successful  (66) 


488588 


CONTENTS 


VII  SHOWING  UNSKILLED  LABOR  HOW  ....  68 
Why  cheap  labor  is  expensive  (68) — The  five  steps  in  teaching 
unskilled  labor  to  do  better  work  (6$) — Finding  the  one  best 
way  (71) — Standardizing  rest  periods  (71) — Determining  best 
length  of  working  day  (72) — Setting  tasks  on  a  fair  wage 
basis  (72) — When  men  will  reach  the  standard  (75) 

VIII    TEACHING  BOYS  TO  BE  ABLE  WORKMEN    ...        77 
Finding  the  hidden  traits  that  reveal  the  boy  (78) — When  not 
to  hire  a  boy  (78) — How  to  control  boys  (79) — Developing 
boys  for  higher  positions  (80) 

IX    TRAINING  WOMEN  OPERATIVES     .....        83 
Why  special  training  is  necessary  (83) — Arousing  ambition  and 
loyalty  in  women  workers  (84) — Determining  advancement 
by  ability  (87) 

X    DEVELOPING  SKILL  THROUGH  MOTION  STUDY  .         .        89 
Saving  twelve  per  cent  on  the  invested  capital  (89) — How  to 
make  a  motion  study  (90) — Establishing  a  piece  rate  from 
time  studies  (90) — Saving  $500  a  year  on  one  operation  (95) 
— Detecting  wasted  motion  by  photographs  (96) 


III— WAGE-PAYMENT  PLANS  AND 
HOW  TO  USE  THEM 

XI    FIXING  THE  REWARD  FOR  WORK         ....      103 

Changing  conditions  in  the  labor  market  (103) — What  pay 
buys  (104) — How  driving  methods  have  given  place  to  funda- 
mental incentives  (105) — When  welfare  work  succeeds  and 
when  it  fails  (107) — Adjusting  wages  by  the  cost  of  living  (111) 

XII    PAYING  A  PREMIUM  FOR  EXTRA  EFFORT  .         .113 

Why  more  than  the  market  rate  is  necessary  (113) — Where 
the  piece  rate  plan  fails  (114) — Towne-Halsey  plan  (114) — 
Nine  standard  plans  of  paying  for  work   (115) — Figuring 
x  premiums  under  the  Rowan  plan  (116) — The  Emerson  and 

Taylor  systems  (117) — Training  men  to  cooperate  (119) 

XIII  MAKING  THE  MOST  OF  DAY  WORK       ....      122 

Adjusting  day  work  to  other  wage-payment  systems  in  the 
same  plant  (122) — Blackboard  schedules  that  pace  the  day's 
work  (124) — When  day  work  is  satisfactory  to  employer  and 
employees  (126) — How  close  to  inspect  under  day  work  (129) 

XIV  HOW  TO  APPLY  PIECE  RATES 131 

Bonus  payment  an  approximation  (131) — Methods  to  avoid 
in  rate-setting  (132) — Reconstructing  a  wage-payment  sys- 
tem in  an  iron-working  plant  (134) — How  rest  periods  in- 
crease output  (135) — Why  one  piecework  plan  failed  (138) 

XV    MAKING  MEN  PARTNERS  IN  THE  PROFITS         .         .      141 
Does  profit  sharing  pay?  (141) — Dangers  to  avoid  in  establish- 
ing profit-sharing  plans  (142) — How  a  plan  worked  for  ten 
years  (147) — Laying  a  foundation  for  sharing  profits  (148) 


CONTENTS 


XVI    WINNING  MEN  TO  A  NEW  WAGE  PLAN        ...      150 

Shifting  from  day  work  to  piece  rates  (150) — Changing  from 
contract  payment  to  gang  piecework  (154) 

XVII    TIMEKEEPING  AND  PAYROLL  METHODS      ...      159 

The  three  objects  of  timekeeping  (159) — Getting  men  to  work 
full  time  (160)— Checking  up  on  labor  costs  (166)— Handling 
the  payroll  at  minimum  cost  (169) 


IV— KEEPING  THE  FORCE  UP 
TO  STANDARD 

XVIII    ROUSING  THE  INSTINCT  FOR  RESULTS         ...      ITS 
How  a  new  boss  increased  production  450  per  cent  (173) — 
When  men  like  to  work  (176)  —  Unique  pacemakers  that 
tune  up  the  plant  (178) 

XIX    REGULATING  WORK  TO  AVOID  FATIGUE      ...      184 

How  a  manager  increased  output  and  earnings  by  shortening 
hours  (184) — What  happens  to  the  body  in  fatigue  (187) — 
Finding  the  most  efficient  work  and  rest  periods  (189)  • 

XX  HOW  BENEFIT  AND  PENSION  PLANS  OPERATE  .        190 

Keeping  down  the  cost  of  benefits  (191) — Ten  pension  plans 
analyzed  (191) — How  local  factories  cooperate  in  a  mutual 
benefit  association  (193) — Arousing  enthusiasm  (195) 

XXI  TRAINING  MEN  TO  BE  CAREFUL 198 

Getting  at  the  causes  of  preventable  accidents  (202) — How 
one  company  attacked  the  accident  problem  (203) — Teaching 
safety  and  English  at  the  same  time  (207) 

XXII    KEEPING  WORKERS  IN  CONDITION       .         .         .        ..      209 

Service  work  in  a  garment  factory  (209) — A  plan  for  a  factory 
hospital  (211) — The  money  value  of  recreation  and  amuse- 
ment (214) — Employees'  savings  banks  as  an  aid  in  keeping 
workers  constantly  up  to  standard  (215) 


PLATES 

Handling  Men  to  Multiply  Results      .         .  .  .  ,  Frontispiece 

Old  and  New  Methods  of  Hiring  Men         .  .  .  .  .         .19,20 

Training  Apprentices  in  Classroom  and  Shop  ..  .  87,  38,  55,  56,  74,  91 

Displacing  "Cut-and-try"  Methods       .         *  ..  ..  .  V        .         73 

Detecting  Wasted  Effort  by  Motion  Pictures  .  ...         .         92 

How  Workmen  Pace  One  Another        .         ...  .  .        109,110 

Right  and  Wrong  Ways  of  Handling  Material  .  '    .  „'.  .       127,  128 

Effective  Safety  Advertising         .         .         .  .  .  .  .        145,181 

Controlling  and  Recording  Workmen's  Time  .  .•  .  .        145,  146 

Repairing  Injured  Employees       .          .         .  .  .  ,  .:         .,      146 

When  Operatives  Keep  to  Schedule     .        y  ,  .  •  •         •       164 

How  Fatigue  Cuts  Down  Labor  Efficiency  .  »  V  ,  .         .       182 

How  to  Keep  Workers  in  Prime  Condition  v  "'*;'•>  -74,  199,  200 


CONTENTS 


FORMS 

I  An  Application  Blank  for  the  Small  Factory           .  .  27 

II-IV  Record  Sheets  for  Character  Analysis    ....  35 

V-VI  Keeping  a  Card  History  of  Workmen    ....  50 

VII-XIV  An  Employment  Record  System  for  the  Large  Factory  .  51 

XV-XIX  Labor,  Tool  and  Health  Accounting        .         .         .  ,'.  52 

XX-XXIII  Four  Cards  for  Handling  Complaints     .         .         .  .  53 

XXI V-V  Workmen's  Operation  and  Efficiency  Reports          .  .  57 

XXVI-VII  Labor  Records  for  Finding  a  Workman's  Value      .  .  59 

XXVIII-IX  Simplifying  Payroll  Ledger  and  Allowance  Voucher  .  85 

XXX  Calculating  the  Average  Workman's  Speed     .         .  .  97 

XXXI  Keeping  Time  with  a  Hand  Punch        .         .         .  .161 

XXXII  A  Short-cut  Record  for  Indirect  Labor           .         .       ,  .  162 

XXXIII  Estimating  Bonuses  for  Foremen             .          .         .  .  165 

XXXIV  One  Card  for  Both  Piece  and  Day  Work       .         .  166 
XXX V-VI  Two  Easy  Methods  for  Checking  on  Piecework      .  * .  167 

FIGURES 

I    Relations  between  Management  and  Men        .         ,      '  .         ,         18 
II    Items  in  a  Labor  Audit          .         .-       .       •  .         «         .         .         15 

III  Finding  the  Trouble  with  the  Payroll      .       ,  *      \*         •       ~>        81 

IV  How  to  Estimate  an  Employee's  Qualifications         ,         .         .        29 
V    Qualities  to  Look  for  in  Hiring  Men       .       ;  .         ,       '-•'"•        33 

VI    Handbook  Instructions  for  New  Employees     .         .         .         .        43 

VII    How  to  Keep  a  History  of  Workmen      .         .         .         .         ,        49 

VIII    Ten  Pointers  on  Developing  Unskilled  Workers       .         .         .         70 

IX    Setting  Piece  Prices  from  Time  and  Motion  Studies         .         .         90 

X    How  an  Operation  Was  Standardised      .         .         .         .         .         95 

XI    Nine  Methods  of  Paying  for  Work          .         .     '    .         .         i       116 

XII    Training  Men  under  the  Task  and  Bonus  Plan        .         .         .119 

XIII  How  Guaranteeing  Piece  Rates  Increased  Output    .         .         .136 

XIV  Why  One  Piecework  Plan  Failed 138 

XV    Reducing  Waste  and  Getting  Quality 139 

XVI    How  Thirteen  Companies  Share  Profits 143 

XVII    Ten  Years  of  Profit  Sharing  in  One  Company          .         .         .147 
XVIII     A  Twelve  Weeks'  Record  under  Piecework      ....       153 

XIX     Gang  Piecework  in  a  Metal-working  Plant       ....       157 

XX    How  Ford  Simplified  Payroll  Accounting          .         .         .         .168 

XXI     When  Men  Like  to  Work       .......       176 

XXII    How  Ten  Pension  Plans  Operate 191 

XXIII  How  Factories  Cooperate  in  Benefit  Insurance         .          .          .193 

XXIV  Putting  Safety  Warnings  into  Workmen's  Hands     .          .          .205 
XXV    Floor  Plan  for  a  Factory  Hospital 211 


Part  I 


BUILDING  UP  THE  FORCE 


AUTHORITIES  AND  SOURCES 
FOR  PART  I 


Chapter  I.  Robert  G.  Valentine,  Chairman,  Massachusetts 
Minimum  Wage  Commission  and  industrial  engineer,  contributes 
this  chapter  from  his  confidential  experiences  with  the  labor 
situation  in  many  plants. 

Chapters  II  and  III.  Contributed  by  Charles  R.  Stevenson, 
general  manager,  National  Veneer  Products  Company,  formerly 
of  Miller,  Franklin  &  Stevenson,  efficiency  engineers,  and  the 
E.  R.  Thomas  Motor  Company;  Mr.  Murphy  and  Mr.  Porter 
collaborating  as  to  the  experience  of  the  Hart-Parr  Company, 
General  Fireproof  Company,  and  other  concerns. 

Chapter  IV.  The  result  of  collaboration  by  C.  H.  Denison, 
Mr.  Murphy,  Mr.  Porter,  and  Mr.  Thomas.  Based  upon  a 
study  of  conditions  in  more  than  two  hundred  plants  in  many 
branches  of  industry,  including  the  Clothcraft  plant  of  Joseph  & 
Feiss,  Tabor  Manufacturing  Company,  Inland  Steel  Company 
and  Universal  Portland  Cement  Company. 

Chapter  V.  Contributed  by  Mr.  Murphy  and  Mr.  Porter 
from  the  experience  of  the  National  Cash  Register  Company, 
Crane  Company,  Gisholt  Company,  Hart-Parr  Company,  A  very 
Company  and  others. 


I 


LAYING  DOWN  INDUSTRIAL 
POLICIES 


CIVIL  war  is  a  problem  in  many  factories.  Armed  neutral- 
ity between  the  business  and  the  public  has  never  been 
uncommon.  Both  conditions  are  usually  accepted  as  the 
unavoidable  clash  of  personalities  when  in  fact  they  result  from 
mistaken  industrial  policies  and  from  unsatisfactory  arrange- 
ments that  can  be  set  right. 

Two  departments  in  a  large  ship-building  concern  have  quite 
different  methods  for  work.  Part  of  the  difference  is  demanded 
by  the  difference  of  work,  part  is  not.  And  the  part  that  is  not 
leads  to  constant  friction  between  the  two  bodies  of  employees. 

The  heads  of  the  departments,  of  course,  are  loyal  each  to 
his  own  men.  A  state  of  war  reigns.  When  things  become  too 
bad,  the  department  heads  are  changed.  Personalities,  not 
methods,  get  the  blame.  But  if  two  men  were  the  best  of  friends 
and  were  put  at  the  head  of  these  departments^  within  six  months 
they  would  be,  administratively  at  least,  at  each  other's  throats. 

In  any  concern  that  is  alive  and  growing,  these  intense  differ- 
ences of  opinion  will  appear ;  but  if  the  business  is  organized  like 
a  well-designed  machine,  differences  of  opinion  will  not  become 
issues  of  principle.  They  will  be  like  healthy  oppositions  of 
nature,  as  rain  and  sunlight,  up  hill  and  down  hill.  A  resultant 
of  safe  progress  will  always  be  possible. 

As  necessary  as  a  safety  valve  on  an  engine  is  it  that  the  per- 
sonalities in  every  concern  have  a  permanent  common  meeting 
ground  where  differences  of  opinion  can  be  fought  out — a  method 
of  settling  conflicts  of  interest — a  conscious  policy  towards  the 
problem  of  personality  and  humanity — so  that  there  is  no  ir- 


12 _         BUILDING    UP  THE  FORCE 

responsible  spreading  of  half-baked  differences  throughout  the 
force. 

As  regards  the  public,  also,  many ^concerns  face  the  same  sort 
of  strife.  Not  only  is  the  manager  responsible  for  content  and 
team  work  in  his  plant,  but  he  is  also  the  connecting  link  be- 
tween his  business  and  society.  Too  often  his  vision  has  become 
ingrown  and  he  has  neglected  long-standing  disputes  between  the 
company  and  his  townspeople,  the  associations  his  business  in- 
volves, the  public,  or  the  government  that  lays  down  hundreds 
of  operating  conditions  for  every  enterprise. 

Obviously,  the  desirable  thing  would  be  to  investigate,  to  bal- 
ance, to  audit  all  the  personal  factors  in  the  business  without 
bias,  and  by  the  measure  of  these  facts  to  correct  policies,  shift 
men  and  plan  ahead.  Trained  outside  experience  and  judgment 
are  needed,  or  next  best,  a  method  under  which  the  manager 
could  get  at  the  evidence,  eliminate  personal  heat  and  make  the 
conditions  sterile  to  discontent  and  misunderstanding. 

To  attain  this  degree  of  health,  many  organizations  have 
initiated  what  might  be  called  a  management  inventory  or  in- 
dustrial audit.  Primarily,  such  an  audit  is  diagnosis  work  upon 
labor  conditions  in  their  bearing  on  the  future  of  the  enterprise. 
Whether  ill  will  and  inefficiency  result  from  faulty  organization, 
loose  methods  of  hiring  and  discharge,  failure  to  train  and  pro- 
tect the  workers,  or  from  unfair  hours  and  wages  solely,  the  first 
step — before  the  advanced  methods  hereafter  described  can  be 
applied — is  to  take  a  fresh  viewpoint,  and  "open  books"  with 
the  cold  facts.  The  big  accomplishment  of  a  management  inven- 
tory is  to  get  the  existing  conditions  and  history  of  the  working 
relations  in  the  company  on  paper,  where  they  can  be  studied, 
analyzed  and  made  the  basis  of  sound  policy. 

EXAMINING  A  BUSINESS  FOR  UNHEALTHY  SPIRIT 
AND  ITS  CAUSES 

"C1  XPERIENCE  has  taught  that  there  are  six  kinds  of  personal 

relationships  (Figures  I  and  II)  which  strongly  influence 

the  success  of  a  business.    Each  of  these  calls  for  thorough  study, 

as  a  possible  source  of  trouble. 

Taking  first  the  management  within  the  plant,  the  audit  looks 


EMPLOYMENT  POLICIES 


13 


for  arrangements  that  in  human  nature  are  bound  to  generate 
friction.  Disregard  of  individual  abilities,  ambitions  and  wel- 
fare is  unearthed.  Payment  methods  that  go  against  the  grain 
are  analyzed  in  their  bearing  on  discontent. 

Following  with  a  survey  of  the  relations  between  the  firm 
and  the  control  it  feels  from  without,  the  audit  challenges  the 


Relations  between  Management  and  Men 

ORGANIZATION 

Management                                                                    Control 

1 

ARRANGEMENTS 

(1) 

PERSONNEL                  PAY                 ASSOCIATION        GOVERNMENT         THE  PUBLIC 

vJ)                              (3)                               tf)                                (5)                               (6) 

Inter-relations 

|       Resources       ]  1      Wage  Plans       j          Employers       1  j  Labor  Legislation  [  [          Health 

Methods 

Selection                    Savings                   Employees        |  |     Administration     1  1          Safety 

1 

Hours 

|    Development    j  |        Insurance       ]  j    Joint  Relations  |  |          Courts           j  [   Regularintkm  j 

Cost  of  Living    | 

FIGURE  I:      The  first  step  in  taking  an  audit  of  the  industrial  situation  in  a  concern  is  to  divide 

the  relations  into  those  of  management  and  those  depending  upon  outside  control.    At  the  left  ar« 

shown  the  former,  for  which  the  executive  head  is  responsible.       To  the  right  are  shown  the  points  at 

which  associations,  the  government  and  public  opinion  exercise  strong  influence 

attitude  of  the  management  towards  the  various  individual  and 
trade  associations  that  hold  power  over  the  business,  and  seeks 
to  determine  the  interplay  of  management  policies  with  gov- 
ernmental control  and  public  good  will. 

Under  the  heading  of  arrangements  comes  the  mapping  of 
the  relations  of  workers  among  themselves  and  to  the  man- 
agement. Points  which  have  come  to  the  front  in  this  investiga- 


14 BUILDING   UP   THE   FORCE 

tion  are  the  difference  in  working  methods  which  pitted  depart- 
ments in  bitterness  against  one  another,  conflicts  of  authority 
between  foremen,  instances  where  interested  persons  are  required 
to  give  decisions  that  should  be  unprejudiced,  ill-considered  dis- 
regard for  or  reversal  of  instructions,  vagueness  in  denning  or 
explaining  duties,  merit  contests  that  become  rancorous.  A  very 
few  such  criticisms  as  these,  made  with  the  human  minimum  of 
prejudice  and  buttressed  with  the  facts,  will  give  the  competent 
manager  a  new  grip  on  profits  and  awaken  the  concern  to  a 
consciousness  of  itself  as  a  unit — a  condition  few  industrial 
organizations  have  yet  reached. 

ARE  YOU  PAYING  EMPLOYEES  WHAT  THEY  ARE  WORTH 
AND  MAKING  THEM  WORTH  MORE? 

nnO  make  such  facts  plain  demands  virile  sincerity  in  the 
investigator ;  to  accept  such  criticism  requires  bigness  in  the 
manager.  Often  there  are  stirring  times,  for  it  is  the  facts  that 
cut  in  business  as  elsewhere.  When  the  audit  continues  into 
questions  of  the  individual's  fitness  for  the  position  he  holds  and 
methods  of  production,  it  gets  still  closer  to  the  heart  of  the 
enterprise. 

Studies  which  have  covered  this  heading  reveal  the  fact  that 
few  concerns  have  any  business-like  line  on  the  way  costs  are 
influenced  by  the  sex  and  age,  by  the  nationality  and  race  of 
the  workers,  and  by  the  relations  between  learners  and  experi- 
enced hands,  or  between  the  skilled  and  unskilled. 

In  the  selecting  and  training  of  employees,  methods  are  in- 
numerable, and  range  from  the  natural  " knack"  of  some  to 
physical  and  psychological  analysis  by  the  expert  who  may  carry 
the  scientific  to  the  point  of  super-refinement.  Often  no  means 
is  afforded  either  the  employment  manager  or  the  workers  to 
make  even  a  rough  estimate  of  the  qualifications  and  wage  value 
of  the  latter. 

The  manager  who  is  determined  to  have  an  uncolored  view  of 
his  personnel  will  include  many  such  points  in  his  study.  It  will 
suggest  to  him  the  use  of  both  scientific  methods  and  common 
sense  in  judging,  assigning  and  training  his  workers.  It  will 
prompt  him,  if  he  has  not  initiated  records,  to  determine  the 
peculiar  aptitudes  of  all  classes  of  workers,  and  if  he  has  neg- 


EMPLOYMENT  POLICIES 


15 


lected  to  do  so,  to  standardize  positions  and  to  link  them  into  a 
chain  of  promotion.  If  the  team  spirit  in  the  business  is  feeble, 
his  findings  will  probably  challenge  any  broad  policy  of  filling 
positions  otherwise  than  by  promotion  of  employees,  even  includ- 
ing so-called  " unskilled"  workers.  Just  as  the  employment 
manager  is  guided  by  his  analysis  of  individual  characteristics, 
so  analysis  may  also  be  applied  to  the  natural  environment,  the 
training  and  education,  the  external  qualities  and  the  health 
of  the  force. 

A  thorough  inventory  of  management  will  be  broad  enough  to 
reach  all  the  causes  of  ill  will  towards  the  firm  not  only  among 
workers,  but  also  among  those  paid  off  or  rejected.  One  of  the 
most  interesting  things  which  took  place  before  the  first  Mini- 
mum Wage  Board  of  Massachusetts,  was  the  statement  by  rep- 
resentatives of  the  workers  that  outright  discharge  for  excessive 
voluntary  absence  from  work  was  real  kindness,  as  compared 


ITEMS  IN  TYPICAL  LABOR  AUDIT 

t  Arrangements 
Ctart  of  Organization 

3.  Pay 

v  vVa?0  Plant 

4  Association  Control 

5.  Governmental  Control 

»/  Methods  of  Work 
v  Hours 

V  Savings 

v  Illness  Insurance 

v/  Employers'  Organizations 

v^  Administration 
taxation 

V  Accident     - 

Coflective  Bargaining 

1  Personnel 
i/Sei 

^Unemployment  Insurance 

'•  Old  Age  Pensions 

Management  Sharing 

Tariff 

s  Nationality  and  Rice 

v'  Life  Insurance 
v  Cooperative  Purchasing 

Committee  Systems 

Ownership 

/*! 

V  Housing 
v/  Social  Center 

Copartnership 

/Court. 

v  Skilled  and  Unskilled 

Cost  of  Uvlng 

Cooperation 

Injunctions 

Standards  of  Living 

Resources 

Mobility  of  Labor 

Force 

^Legislation 

Selection 

Fair  Distribution  of  Work 

Evolutionary  Standards  of 
Performance 

Unit  Costs 
Relation  of  Wages  to 

i  Profits 

Strikss 
Lockouts 
Boycotts 

6.  The  Public 
Comparative  Standards 

/Discipline 

b.  Materials 

Blacklisting 

i/  Safety 

v/  Promotion 

c  Overhead  Expense 

«/  Health 

Perpetual  Audit 

d.  Sailing  Expense 

Mediation 

V  Education 

/Records 

•.Administration 
f.  Total  Expense 

Arbitration 

V  Right  to  Work 

Dally  Use 

f.Selllng  Price  to 

Non-Unlon  Labor 

V  Regularization 

Cotmseitai 

Prfrrary  Purchass 

Alleged  Unfair  Practices 

v'  Immigration 

FIGURE  II:    For  many  of  the  headings  given  in  Figure  I  scores  of  items  are  to  be  considered. 

On  this  list  of  typical  items  bearing  upon  the  effectiveness  of  the  organization,  the  management  may 

check  off  each  point  as  it  is  analyzed  and  covered  in  the  report 

with  continuing  the  workers  at  low  aggregate  weekly  earnings 
under  a  failure  to  furnish  full-time  employment.  The  work  to 
be  done  in  this  field  of  regularizing  employment  in  individual 
concerns  and  in  business  generally — for  the  problem  must  be 


16 BUILDING   UP  THE   FORCE 

approached  from  both  ends  at  once — is  one  of  the  most  needed 
pioneer  works  in  industry  today. 

The  underlying  principle  to  go  origin  searching  for  causes  of 
discontent  among  the  men  is  just  this :  Do  not  expect  a  manage- 
ment interest  from  the  workers  except  in  return  for  care  of  their 
interests  by  the  management. 

In  a  plant  where  improved  methods  of  doing  business  were 
recently  being  developed,  a  sub-foreman  was  reduced  to  the  grade 
of  an  ordinary  worker  because  he  said  frankly  that  he  did  not 
believe  the  new  plans  would  work  out.  The  man,  happening  to 
have  real  brains,  just  as  thousands  of  others  like  him  have,  sat 
up  nights  devising  ways  to  help  smash  a  system  which  he  felt 
had  led  almost  directly  to  his  reduction.  A  little  unprejudiced 
common  sense  on  the  part  of  the  management  could  have  won 
the  man's  approval  of  the  new  methods.  Efficiency  does  not  lie 
in  attempting  to  make  a  tree  grow  the  way  the  twig  is  not  in- 
clined. It  lies  in  inclining  the  twig,  not  forcing  it. 

Improved  processes  are  now  in  the  front  of  every  executive's 
mind.  An  industrial  audit  shows  not  only  whether  the  manage- 
ment has  educated  itself  into  a  fighting  condition  keen  to  im- 
prove, but  also  whether  it  has  remembered  to  get  the  workmen 
convinced.  That  is  the  precise  point  where  hundreds  of  needed 
improvements  have  buckled  on  themselves  and  where  the  aggre- 
gate of  effects,  many  of  them  tiny  in  themselves,  have  inevitably 
fed  strikes  and  dissatisfaction  costs  in  many  a  concern. 

Next  in  the  course  of  the  study,  check  up  the  effects  of 
amounts  and  methods  of  payment,  and  determine  whether 
they  are  in  the  direction  of  greater  content  and  skill.  Money 
wages  received  in  the  weekly  envelope  are  not  all;  a  clean-cut 
analysis  will  assemble  the  total  rewards  the  worker  receives. 
That  the  bulk  of  strikes  are  on  wage  questions  is  possibly  be- 
cause the  answers  to  the  following  questions  are  not  clear  in 
every  worker's  mind  (Figure  III). 

"Where  a  concern  has  a  minimum  wage,  is  it  properly  a  wage 
at  all?  If  it  does  not  make  healthy  living  possible,  it  cannot 
buy  efficiency  and  contentment. 

Can  good  working  conditions  properly  be  regarded  as  a  part 
of  the  workers'  remuneration? 


EMPLOYMENT  POLICIES       17 

Is  any  part  whatever  of  "welfare  work"  an  addition  to 
wages  in  a  proper  sense? 

Is  any  other  part  of  "welfare  work"  legitimate  expense  for 
the  business? 

Where  there  is  a  profit-sharing  plan,  what  is  its  effect  on 


What  is  the  existing  and  what  the  correct  relation  of  benefit 
and  insurance  systems  to  wages? 

What  part  of  industrial  discontent  in  the  plant  centers  about 
the  amount  of  remuneration,  what  part  about  the  method  of 
remuneration,  and  what  part  has  some  elements  of  both? 

Going  over  this  ground  completes  an  analysis  of  the  internal 
industrial  conditions  of  a  plant,  arranged  under  many  significant 
sub-heads — significant  because  they  affect  the  costs  of  the  busi- 
ness. The  main  duty  of  a  well-run  business  is  to  keep  pro- 
gressively solvent.  It  must  be  able  to  pull  its  own  weight  in 
the  boat,  if  it  is  to  be  really  a  self-respecting  part  of  life.  There- 
fore, if  questions  like  those  of  hygiene  and  safety,  decent  human 
organization  and  self-respecting  methods  of  payment,  entirely 
apart  from  further  developed  "welfare  work,"  are  not  profit- 
able, the  audit  will  here  frankly  face  the  fact,  drive  the  prob- 
lem into  the  open  in  such  a  clean-cut  presentation  that  few  peo- 
ple will  deny  it,  and  show  the  management  how  it  is  influencing 
those  who  live  under  it.  A  searching  investigation  into  all 
of  these  questions  and  an  honest  tabulation  of  the  facts  laid 
bare  will  reveal  the  possible  sources  of  trouble  that  lie  within 
the  business,  and  focus  the  manager's  attention  on  the  vital 
matters  in  his  labor  situation. 

AUDITING  THE  RELATIONS  BETWEEN  THE  BUSINESS 
AND  ITS  TRADE  CONNECTIONS 

'T1  HE  second  half  of  a  management  inventory  develops  sim- 
ilar study  of  outside  levers  upon  the  enterprise.  Many  in- 
dustrial establishments  today  may  be  likened  to  a  sailboat  on  a 
mountain  lake.  Everything  on  the  boat  may  be  trim.  But  the 
managers  of  the  business  do  not  seem  as  aware  as  the  skippers 
usually  are  of  the  effect  of  wind  dropping  onto  the  lake  from  the 
tops  of  surrounding  mountains.  Until  the  squall  strikes  their 


18 BUILDING   UP   THE   FORCE 

sails,  too  few  managers  have  any  real  conception  of  what  the 
forces  are  like  that  are  in  action  around  them.  Not  only  will 
the  audit  plan  afford  a  first  systematic  review  of  those  outside 
factors,  but  it  may  eventually  enable  managers  so  to  organize  that 
something  like  the  amount  of  time  can  be  spent  studying  and 
estimating  external  trends  (as  the  risk  really  warrants),  which 
they  now  spend  in  studying  and  estimating  material  costs, 
methods  and  markets.  Thus  the  biggest  single  steadying  influ- 
ence possible  would  be  brought  to  bear  to  counteract  present 
industrial  instability. 

It  is  becoming  clearer  and  clearer,  for  instance,  and  manage- 
ment audits  appear  to  be  contributing  largely  to  this,  that  for 
employers  to  fight  labor  organizations  as  organizations  is  foolish. 
The  helpful  thing  to  do  is  to  admit  all  that  is  good  in  the  poli- 
cies and  methods  of  organized  labor  and  oppose  only  those  that 
one  believes  to  be  wrong.  That  way  the  real  issue  lies. 

A  broad-minded  audit,  unflinching  to  the  facts,  will  cover 
these  points.  Limitation  of  output,  for  example,  is,  generally 
speaking,  bad  economics.  But,  the  report  may  remind  the  man- 
ager, it  is  not  a  policy  followed  by  trade  unions  only.  There  is 
a  good  deal  of  rather  pathetic  humor  in  the  present  industrial 
situation.  Lately  a  manufacturer  was  railing  against  the  intro- 
duction of  outsiders  to  help  the  cause  of  labor,  and  against  the 
use  of  the  boycott.  Within  five  minutes,  however,  he  risked 
the  guess  that  another  manufacturer  who  had  been  responsible 
for  bringing  the  disturbing  elements  to  the  town  would  live  to 
regret  it,  because  the  speaker  had  already  stopped  giving  him 
some  large  orders  which  he  had  been  accustomed  to  give,  and 
had  passed  the  word  along  to  other  buyers ! 

The  very  human  question,  therefore,  of  organizations  and 
associations,  and  of  conflicts  of  opinion,  can  be  so  analyzed  in 
an  unbiased  study  of  actual  conditions  as  to  suggest  changes 
which  will  pay  a  dividend  in  almost  any  shop. 

Individual  enterprises  and  whole  industries  often  adopt 
unbusiness-like  attitudes  towards  the  government  and  legis- 
lation. It  has  been  proved  more  than  once  that  for  the  manager 
and  his  auditor  of  conditions  to  take  their  bearings  in  this  field 
pays  profits  to  the  concern  in  good  will  and  relief  from  friction. 


The  old  method  of  hiring  men  (top)  was  to  make  a  quick  choice  from  the  gang  at  the  door.     In  the 

well-organized  employment   department,   complete  records  on  each   applicant,   employee  and  ez- 

employee  are  maintained,  comfortable  waiting  rooms  are  provided   for   applicants,  and    different 

entrances  supplied  for  men,  women  and  office  employees 


Judging  men  by  their  hands  is  becoming  an  art.  From  the  top  and  to  the  right  the  first  and  third 
views  are  the  hand  of  a  skilled  mechanic,  contrasted  with  the  second — that  of  the  shop  sweeper.  The 
spatulate  fingers  and  big  joints  in  the  fourth  view  indicate  mechanical  aptitude,  as  does  the 
"mechanic's  hold"  in  number  five,  contrasted  with  number  six.  Below  is  the  hand  of  a  blacksmith 


EMPLOYMENT  POLICIES 


Industries  have  allowed  conditions  to  grow  up  which  have 
brought  labor  legislation  on  their  heads.  When  laws  were  ad- 
vocated and  an  aroused  public  opinion  was  forcing  them  to  pas- 
sage, the  business  often  blindly  and  bluntly  showed  fight  in- 
stead of  getting  the  facts,  admitting  a  sound  principle  and 


25%- 

-25% 

Weekly  Earnings 

Corset  Factory 

20%- 

-20% 

15%- 

:;.-£';fltttflv-y- 

•'••titt'OCit'' 

ilUS 

-15% 

^^Si 

Hlftl 

and      $P-P     ov&r 

11111 

'•&&  ooTun^^^:H-^v^ 
^'         $9.00 

io%- 

mn 

-10% 

tJiidlei^ 

liiii 

itti 

Kif^v'      ':  '       -  -v- 

m 

-5% 

FIGURE  III:      Having  studied  the  living  conditions  and  requirements  of  the  factory  workers,  a 

search  for  an  explanation  of  any  unsatisfactory  conditions  leads  directly  to  the  payroll.      Such  an 

analysis  as  the  above,  showing  35  per  cent  of  the  wage  total  to  be  under  $6  per  week,  may  explain 

sickness,  easy  fatigue,  discontent  and  even  worse  conditions 

helping  legislators  work  out  a  business-like  bill.  There  are 
methods  and  rules  of  sportsmanship  in  business  which  an  un- 
biased study  of  an  organization  will  develop. 

In  the  last  main  section  of  an  industrial  audit  an  analysis  ia 
made  of  the  relations  between  the  business  and  its  commu- 
nity. Any  manager  will  recognize  on  thought,  that  his  estab- 
lishment is  above,  level  with  or  below  the  physical,  mental, 
moral  and  religious  standard  of  its  locality.  "I  am  going  to 


BUILDING  UP  THE  FORCE 


run  my  business  to  suit  myself;  nobody  shall  dictate  to  me/' 
is  an  attitude  of  employers  which  shows  badly  on  the  balance 
sheet  dealing  with  the  personal  factors  in  the  progress  of  a 
business.  Like  the  manufacturer  who  sent  his  merchandise  to 
China  wrapped  in  paper  of  a  color  the  Chinese  were  known  to 
abhor,  no  business  man  can  find  out  too  soon  that  the  public  in 
the  long  run  is  always  right. 

It  is  for  none  of  us,  however  high  in  authority,  to  disregard 
the  value  of  such  a  study  of  the  business  from  a  detached  view- 
point. Up  to  a  few  days  ago,  a  certain  business  official  had  been 
doing  most  of  his  work  by  artificial  light  at  a  glass-top  desk  with 
the  electric  bulb  centered  above.  A  temporary  user  of  the  desk 
coming  from  daylight  work  quickly  called  the  eye-strain  to  his 
attention.  The  loss  of  power  in  a  human  being  is  harder  to 
estimate  than  in  a,  machine,  but  no  manager  or  superintendent 
will  deny  that  the  instinct  which  perceived  this  handicap  in 
personal  efficiency  might  be  similarly  valuable  throughout  the 
plant.  There  is  a  steady,  quiet  drift  of  the  best  workers  to 
places  where  conditions  are  best.  The  concerns  that  are  put- 
ting on  the  market  lighting  devices,  noise-deadening  plans,  more 
convenient  factory  fixtures  and  recreation  plans,  are  at  last  mak- 
ing clear  in  a  singularly  business-like,  unsentimental  way,  one 
of  the  underlying  causes  in  every  strike  the  world  has  ever 
seen.  Shop  accident  committees  among  the  men  and  foremen 
are  helping  the  management  avoid  costs  of  accident  and  death 
which  far  outbalance  the  cost  of  prevention.  The  public,  un- 
derneath it  all,  is  forcing  the  consideration  of  the  human  fac- 
tor in  industry. 

Managers  are  finding  it  worth  while  to  save  the  losses  that 
have  always  been  going  on  and  the  hampered  or  unused  human 
energy,  greater  still  in  the  aggregate,  which  might  be  called 
conscious  or  unconscious  "dissatisfaction  cost." 

When  a  systematic  study  of  the  personal  factor  as  it  beara 
upon  the  profits  of  the  particular  business  is  completed,  it  con- 
sists of  these  various  sorts  of  material,  simply  grouped  under 
these  headings  and  numerous  subheads. 

Evidently,  there  is  nothing  fundamentally  new  about  such  a 
plan.  It  is  merely  a  more  methodical  way  of  doing  something 
which  every  manager  has  more  or  less  blindly  attempted  to  do 


EMPLOYMENT  POLICIES 23 

at  times.  Nor  is  it  a  philanthropy.  The  reason  for  it  is  that 
in  the  long  run  it  pays.  Such  data  in  a  number  of  plants  has 
accomplished  interesting  results.  The  ventilation  section  of  the 
hygiene  division  of  such  an  audit  was  recently  submitted  by 
itself  to  a  certain  concern.  Though  it  contained  data  under 
about  one  hundred  and  forty-four  heads,  it  put  forward  few 
facts  that  the  concern  had  not  known  at  one  time  or  another. 
With  the  submission  of  all  the  data  in  this  form  and  all  inter- 
relations made  clear,  however,  the  subject  took  on  its  true  im- 
portance and  led  to  action  that  would  otherwise  have  been  de- 
layed. 

Following  such  a  study  of  the  conditions  and  motives  that 
make  up  the  man  side  of  a  business,  the  maker  of  the  report, 
whether  one  of  the  more  detached  heads  of  the  business  him- 
self or  an  outside  engineer,  applies  his  whole  experience  to  the 
inventory  in  such  a  way  as  to  point  out  (1)  the  strong  points 
of  the  concern  as  he  see  them,  (2)  every  important  weak  spot, 
(3)  recommendations.  Every  effort  is  made  to  back  the  evi- 
dence so  successfully  as  to  take  these  conclusions  entirely  out 
of  the  realm  of  opinion.  If  the  work  has  been  conducted  in 
the  proper  spirit,  it  will  have  eliminated  most  personal  bias  and 
passion  from  the  problem  of  the  human  factor. 

The  necessity  for  such  an  inventory  of  management  as  that 
outlined  originates  in  the  habit  of  those  in  control  to  begin 
with  site,  construction  and  equipment,  rather  than  building  the 
business  as  an  organization.  Confused  by  increasing  indus- 
trial and  political  unrest,  managers,  responsible  for  making  the 
business  pay  its  way  in  the  present  tense,  have  not  known  where 
to  take  hold  of  the  problem  of  human  relationship.  Now,  how- 
ever, three  great  principles  for  dealing  with  the  human  side  of 
business  problems  are  appearing: 

(1)  The  wisdom  of  encouraging  not  only  the  organization 

of  employees,  but  also  of  employers  and  then  of  the 
complete  personnel  of  each  separate  concern  for  col- 
lective action. 

(2)  The  necessity  of  laying  open  the  utmost  opportunity 

for  every  one  in  the  organization  through  regulariza- 
tion  of  work,  mobility  of  labor,  work  analysis  and 
good  engineering  and  accounting. 


24 BUILDING   UP  THE  FORCE 

(3)  The  establishment  of  wise  payment  plans,  based  upon 
the  belief  that  the  present  wage  system  must  be 
fundamentally  modified.  To  my  mind,  no  one  thing 
will  do  more  to  allay  industrial  unrest  than  the  cer- 
tainty that  capital  and  management  are  not  profiting 
from  the  business  beyond  a  fixed  maximum.  The 
outlines  of  the  future  wage  system  may  well  be  maxi- 
mum and  minimum  limits  of ' '  advance  pay, ' '  rounded 
out  with  profit  sharing. 

It  is  with  this  sort  of  vision  that  the  management  audit  needs 
to  go  over  all  the  personal  relations  of  organization,  work  and  pay. 
No  wise  man  today  pretends  to  know  the  solution  of  the  labor 
problem.  But  a  large  percentage  of  the  labor  difficulties  of 
factory  superintendents  and  executives  is  due  to  misunderstand- 
ings and  failure  consciously  to  develop  better  personal  relations. 
An  industrial  audit  is  the  first  step  in  providing  for  such  develop- 
ment. It  reveals  what  stands  in  the  way  of  good  will  and  united 
effort.  Its  findings  direct  the  manager's  attention  to  more  ad- 
vanced methods  in  employment,  accident  prevention,  reward  and 
profit  sharing,  scientific  training  of  men  and  the  other  matters 
with  which  this  volume  deals.  The  key  to  such  a  study  is  the 
chart  on  page  13,  considered  in  connection  with  the  trends  already 
referred  to.  Every  single  feature  on  this  program  is  by  itself  in 
force  somewhere  and  the  concern  which  combines  them  will  in  the 
long  run  reach  greater  efficiency  as  to  quality  and  quantity  of 
production  and  greater  stability  than  it  can  otherwise  attain, 
because  it  will  be  following  along  the  main  currents  of  human 
progress. 


II 


HIRING  AND  ADVANCING 
WORKMEN 


FOR  years  a  certain  plant  in  a  New  England  manufacturing 
town  had  enjoyed  a  lucrative  business  on  a  well-known 
hardware  specialty.  The  proprietor  of  this  plant  had  a 
natural  gift  for  organization  and  the  selection  of  men.  When- 
ever he  found  a  good  man  in  his  own  employ  he  developed  and 
advanced  him  to  positions  of  constantly  increasing  responsibil- 
ity. When  a  man  failed  to  make  progress,  he  was  eliminated, 
and  his  place  filled  by  a  man  who  gave  more  promise  of  making 
good. 

Whenever  this  executive  came  across  a  good  man,  though 
employed  by  his  competitors  or  his  dealers,  he  made  it  worth 
the  man's  while  to  join  his  organization.  The  result,  finally, 
was  picked  men  in  every  department,  from  the  sales  manager 
down  to  the  molders. 

Handsome  profits  eventually  attracted  the  attention  of  outside 
capital.  A  new  company  was  then  formed  to  manufacture  the 
article.  The  promoter  was  a  former  sales  manager  of  the  origi- 
nal company,  who  had  developed  a  flaw  in  the  eyes  of  his 
employer  and  had  been  dropped.  He  was  successful  in  securing 
a  large  amount  of  capital  and  proceeded  to  erect  a  model  plant 
for  the  manufacture  of  the  specialty. 

So  far  as  physical  appliances  went,  the  new  factory  was  far 
in  advance  of  the  other  plant.  But  the  ex-sales  manager  was 
not  a  good  judge  of  men.  He  did  not  understand  how  to  secure 
the  right  human  material,  and  believed  that  he  had  all  of  the 
ability  necessary  to  create  and  operate  a  successful  business. 

For  five  years  the  new  business  went  on  at  a  loss.     Then  it 


26 BUILDING  UP  THE  FORCE 

was  put  under  the  hammer  and  went  to  the  original  manufac- 
turer for  about  half  of  what  it  cost.  ^ 

This  contrast  in  management  emphasizes  the  value  which  good 
organization  secured,  through  careful  selection  of  workers  and 
their  painstaking  development.  Success  or  failure  in  any  enter- 
prise depends  upon  the  men  on  its  payroll.  The  business  which 
could  be  served  throughout  by  men  who  were  one  hundred  per 
cent  efficient  would  outdistance  all  competition. 

But  the  complaint  arises  from  every  side  that  it  is  impossible 
to  secure  really  good  men.  Where  and  how  are  they  to  be  had? 

Some  managers  have  the  faculty  of  selecting  uniformly  good 
men  with  astonishing  regularity,  while  others  are  unsuccessful 
with  equally  astonishing  regularity.  Is  ability  to  choose  good 
men  an  inborn  talent,  or  is  it  an  ability  which  can  be  developed 
through  study  and  experience? 

A  study  of  employers  and  employees  in  several  hundred  plants 
has  shown  that  the  ability  to  secure  and  employ  good  men  can  be 
cultivated,  that  its  cultivation  depends  largely  on  the  realization 
of  its  importance. 

The  best  place  to  look  for  good  men  is,  generally  speaking, 
in  your  own  organization.  But  this  presupposes  proper  fore- 
sight and  judgment  in  employing  men  to  fill  the  subordinate 
positions. 

The  organization  man  has  a  great  advantage  over  the  out- 
side man  in  his  knowledge  of  the  technical  details  of  the  business 
and  of  the  policies  and  ideas  of  his  employer.  A  man  coming 
into  an  organization  from  the  outside  has  so  much  to  learn  that 
for  some  time  his  efficiency  is  apt  to  be  much  impaired. 

Very  few  managers  are  as  familiar  as  they  should  be  with  the 
actual  work  performed,  and  the  capacities  for  better  work  exist- 
ing in  their  own  organizations.  That  "familiarity  breeds  con- 
tempt" is  an  old  saying,  but  a  true  one.  Many  managers  go 
outside  their  own  organizations  when  they  could  find  far  better 
men  in  their  own  ranks. 

When  a  young  fellow  comes  to  you  seeking  employment 
as  an  office  boy  or  a  junior  clerk,  determine  whether  he  has 
the  latent  characteristics  and  ability  which  will  eventually 
enable  him  to  fill  a  more  important  position.  If  he  has,  hire 
him  and  you  will  be  making  an  investment  that  will  net  you 


HIRING   AND   ADVANCING   WORKERS 27 

many,  many  times  the  legal  rate  of  interest.  If  he  has  not,  do 
not  employ  him,  for  no  matter  how  well  he  may  perform  the 
limited  tasks  at  first  imposed  upon  him,  he  eventually  will 
become  a  liability  rather  than  an  asset. 

"Workers  in  general  fall  into  two  classes:  hand  and  head 
workers.  If  the  hand  workers  are  chosen  judiciously,  they  may 
be  advanced  in  many  instances  to  positions  requiring  head  work, 


Application  for  Position 

ANSWER  ALL  QUESTIONS 


To  HART-PARR  CO;  Charles  City,  Iowa.  Oat* 

Age Nationality Weight  I 

Married? How  many  years  schooling? 

Schooling  in  special  lines?  What  schools? 

Do  you  uso  intoxicating  liquors? Were  you  em  intoxicated?  

Are  you  opposed  to  the  sale  of  liquors? Are  you  a  habitual  user  of  cigarettes? . 

What  is  your  trade? How  long  have  you  worked  at  your  trade? 

Where  employed  last  and  by  whom  ?   Foreman's  name  — 

Give  dates  of  service,  from to 


What  did  you  do? Wages  received  ? 

What  department  do  you  wish  to  enter? 


If  iMxperltneod,  are  you  in  a  position  to  accept  small  wages  until  experience  warrants  higher  wages  ?. 
Remarks: 


Give  the  names  and  addresses  of  two  responsible  parties  as  refe 


If  given  a  position  and  you  find  after  a  month's  trial  that  you  like  your  work  and  the  Company  considers  you  a  desirable  man, 

are  you  willing  and  in  a  position  to  purchase  a  home? 

If  you  could  finish  paying  for  same  by  monthly  instalments  how  much  could  you  Invest  K  a  first  payment?  $ 


The  shops  run  night  and  day.  Night  force  works  nine  hours  and  day  force  ten  hours.  The  night  men  receive  about  the  same  pay 
for  nine  hours,  as  day  men  do  for  ten  hours.  Night  shift  begins  ftOOP.M.  and  off  at  MOA.M.  the  next  morning.  If  necessary 
are  you  willing  to  begin  on  night  shift  and  work  there  until  the  Company  has  an  opportunity  to  transfer  you  to  the  day  _ 

force?  _____ '. ! 

The  Hart-Parr  Relief  Association  pays  benefits  for  time  lost  oo  account  of  sickness  or  accident  It  Is  supported  by  assessments 
deducted  from  member's  pay  checks.  If  given  employment  are  you  willing  to  join  this  Association? 


ADDRESS 

ICMWU.  ALWAYS  •{     TO 


Your  Home  Town  L  Street 


FORM   I:      Experiences  differ  as  to  the  value  of  an  elaborate  application  form.      A  farm  engine 
manufacturer  who  maintains  a  small-town  plant  and  trains  his  own  workmen,  drawn  from  the  farm- 
ing section  about  him,  questions  an  applicant  as  to  his  willingness  to  learn  the  trade  on  small  wages, 
to  purchase  a  home,  to  begin  on  night  shift  and  to  support  the  benefit  association 

where  the  experience  they  have  had  in  the  actual  work  of  manu- 
facturing the  product  will  enable  them  to  surpass  in  efficiency 
those  head  workers  who  have  not  had  this  experience. 

In  employing  a  large  force,  of  course,  it  is  impossible  to  make 


28 BUILDING  UP  THE  FORCE 

their  fitness  for  head  work  an  indispensable  condition,  but  it 
will  often  pay  very  definitely  to  add  to  the  factory  force  each 
year  a  certain  percentage  of  workers  who  have  this  promise  of 
increased  value. 

The  best  source  from  which  to  obtain  men  of  this  sort  is  from 
our  schools  and  colleges.  Each  year  there  graduate  from  our 
grammar  schools,  high  schools  and  colleges  thousands  of  eager, 
ambitious,  intelligent  young  men  who  are  anxious  to  find  places 
in  the  industrial  world.  Wide-awake  concerns  are  watching 
these  sources. 

As  soon  as  you  are  convinced  that  it  pays  to  hire  for  advance- 
ment, begin  to  keep  in  close  touch  with  the  heads  of  the  grammar 
schools  and  high  schools  of  your  city,  and  with  the  dean  of 
some  college  or  technical  school.  Let  these  men  pick  out  for 
you  each  year  a  certain  number  of  boys,  whom,  as  a  result  of 
close  observation  and  contact,  they  can  recommend. 

HOW  TO  DEVELOP  BOYS  TO  FILL  FUTURE 
EXECUTIVE  VACANCIES 

pLACE  these  boys  in  your  shop,  in  your  factory,  in  your  ware- 
house, at  the  bottom  of  the  ladder.  Do  not  strive  to  tie  them 
down  with  contracts  and  agreements,  apprenticeship  or  other- 
wise. The  employment  relation  is  worth  while  and  desirable 
only  so  long  as  it  is  mutually  satisfactory.  When  lack  of  satis- 
faction is  felt  on  either  side,  the  relationship  had  better  cease. 

Many  of  these  boys  will  fail,  but  some  out  of  each  batch  will 
make  good.  These  boys  coming  up  through  your  business,  each 
developing  capacities  along  certain  lines,  will  be  a  never-failing 
source  to  which  you  can  look  in  filling  more  responsible  places. 

In  ultimate  effect  this  plan  undoubtedly  offers  the  best  means 
of  securing  men  for  the  development  and  improvement  of  an 
organization.  But  it  is  a  plan  which  requires  several  years  to 
get  into  effective  working  order.  Fortunate  indeed  are  those 
concerns  whose  executives  have  already  been  broad-minded  and 
far-seeing  enough  to  put  into  effect  such  a  policy. 

Those  concerns  which  have  not  already  adopted  this  policy 
should  do  so  at  once,  and  five  years  from  now  their  problem  of 
where  to  look  for  men  will  be  no  problem  at  all. 


HIRING   AND   ADVANCING   WORKERS 


The  concern,  however,  which  needs  men  immediately  and  has 
developed  no  reserve  supply  among  its  own  employees,  must 
have  more  immediate  sources.  These  sources  vary  with  the  kind 
of  men  who  are  required.  While  exceptions  are  frequent,  the 
man  out  of  employment  who  comes  to  you  seeking  a  position 
does  not  usually  offer  the  best  available  timber  from  which  to 


Originil 

Decisive 

Reserved 

Persistent 

Progressive 


Initiative 

Inventive 

Sensitive 

Irritable 

Selfish  (Self. 

preservation) 

Synthetic 


Enthusiastic 
Interest 
Honest 
Honorable 

Industrious 


Diplomatic 
Loyal  _ 

Cooperative 
Calm  — 

Analytical 
Keenly 
Perceptive 


Enthusiastic 
nterest 
Honest 
Honorable 
Industrious 


Confident 

Ambitious 

Aggressive 

Magnetic 

Judgment 

Personality 

Persevering 


Good  Eyesight 
Good  Hearing 
Strong 
Willing 
Thoughtful 


Contented 
Concentrated 
Controlled 
Reliable 


Careful 

Accurate 

Orderly 

Quick 

Clean 

Neat 

Economical 

Submissive 

ious 
Good  at 
Figures 


Courteous 
Good  Memory 
Obedient 
Cheerful 


FIGURE  IV:       Here  is  suggested  a  method  by  which  any  employee  can  more  accurately  estimate 
his  own  qualifications  in  laying  his  course  up  through  any  concern.     Age,  education,  natural  qual- 
ities and  developed  traits  determine  advancement 

recruit  your  organization.  Really  good  men  seldom  are  out  of 
employment,  usually  retaining  one  connection  until  another  one 
has  been  secured  or  offered  to  them. 

In  filling  clerical  positions,  an  effective  plan  is  to  consult  the 
audit  company  which  makes  the  annual  audit  of  your  business. 
The  accountants  of  such  a  concern  are  generally  in  touch  with 
many  office  workers  and  they  usually  are  glad  to  recommend 
men  who  deserve  advancement. 


SO BUILDING   UP  THE   FORCE 

In  employing  technical  men  for  factory  work,  advertisements 
in  the  technical  papers  generally  reach  the  class  of  men  you 
want  to  secure.  If  you  require  a  factory  foreman  and  have 
an  attractive  position  to  offer,  an  advertisement  in  some  of  the 
leading  trade  journals  will  usually  bring  in  many  applications 
from  men  who  are  making  good  but  who  are  looking  for  greater 
opportunity.  Practically  every  line  of  technical  factory  work 
affords  journals  which  reach  the  leading  men  in  the  field. 

The  same  principle  holds  good  in  securing  highly  trained 
technical  workmen  for  definite  branches  of  industry.  Adver- 
tisements in  the  technical  papers  relating  to  these  industries 
are  generally  read  by  ambitious  workers  in  the  trade.  If  the 
advertised  position  does  not  appeal  to  the  reader  personally,  he 
will  generally  pass  the  word  on  to  one  of  his  fellows. 

In  employing  unskilled  workers  the  best  results  can  seldom 
be  obtained  by  running  general  "help  wanted "  advertisements. 
It  is  better  to  develop  a  file  of  possible  employees  through  a 
careful  record  of  applications  received  and  by  securing  from  men 
already  employed  names  of  friends  who  they  think  would  make 
desirable  workmen. 

The  ability  to  draw  the  best  class  of  factory  workers,  both 
skilled  and  unskilled,  depends  almost  wholly  on  working  con- 
ditions. The  most  desirable  class  of  workpeople,  both  men  and 
women,  demand  that  the  conditions  under  which  they  work  shall 
be  as  attractive,  as  possible.  The  slovenly  kept  factory  can 
never  hope  to  attract  the  best  workers,  and  as  it  must  be  con- 
tented with  second-class  help,  its  product  will  be  second  class. 

I  have  found  in  many  instances  that  it  is  good  business  to  pay 
slightly  more  than  the  prevailing  rate  of  wages  in  an  industry 
in  order  that  the  pick  of  the  workers  in  that  industry  may  be 
secured. 

Some  years  ago  a  new  manager  was  employed  to  reorganize 
a  cotton  mill  in  one  of  the  smaller  New  England  towns.  The 
manufacture  was  a  high-grade  line  of  cotton  goods.  Great  diffi- 
culty had  long  been  experienced  in  securing  the  right  kind  of 
help.  The  working  conditions  were  good,  but  the  wages  paid 
were  not  enough  to  attract  the  better  class  of  workers  from  the 
larger  mill  centers. 

By  increasing  the  piecework  and  day-work  rates  about  ten 


HIRING   AND   ADVANCING    WORKERS 31 

per  cent,  a  complete  change  in  the  situation  soon  was  brought 
about.  Applications  for  work  in  this  mill  were  obtained  from 
the  best  workers  in  the  larger  towns  and  within  a  year  the 
character  of  the  force  had  been  changed  completely.  The  result 
was  an  increase  in  production  which  netted  a  material  reduction 
in  the  cost  of  output. 

Another  experience  along  the  same  line  occurred  in  connec- 
tion with  a  large  stamping  plant  in  one  of  our  larger  middle- 
western  cities  some  years  ago. 

Physical  conditions  were  bad — very  bad.  The  factory  was 
dark,  dirty  and  badly  kept.  Raw  and  finished  stock  and  metal 
clippings  were  piled  promiscuously  around  the  aisles  and  in 
spaces  between  the  machines.  Lighting  was  poor  and  sanitary 
arrangements  unspeakable. 

As  a  result  of  these  conditions,  in  order  to  keep  a  force  of 
nine  hundred  at  work,  it  was  necessary  to  employ  between  four 
and  five  thousand  people  each  year. 

Our  first  work  was  the  modernization  of  the  factory.  All  raw 
material  was  collected  in  a  stock-room  from  which  it  was  issued 
only  as  needed.  Finished  stock  was  taken  from  the  machines 
as  soon  as  completed.  Trimmings  and  waste  were  collected 
hourly.  A  force  of  men  was  employed  whose  duty  it  was  to 
keep  the  factory  clean.  Liberal  coats  of  white  were  used  on 
the  walls  and  ceilings.  New  lighting  arrangements  were  installed 
throughout  the  entire  plant.  Modern  plumbing  and  washrooms 
were  provided.  The  factory,  instead  of  being  a  horror  for  the 
worker,  became  as  attractive  as  it  is  possible  for  such  an  indus- 
try to  become. 

As  a  result  of  these  changes  the  number  of  employments  nec- 
essary decreased  from  between  four  and  five  thousand  to  less 
than  fifteen  hundred.  The  production  of  the  plant  was  increased 
about  twenty-five  per  cent.  Much  more  careful  selection  of 
employees  became  possible,  and  a  class  of  labor  which  had  never 
before  been  willing  to  work  in  the  plant  applied  for  employ- 
ment. 


* 


III 

PICKING  THE  BEST  MAN 
FOR  THE  JOB 


TO  develop  a  labor  supply  is  one  thing.  To  select  the 
best  of  that  material  is  quite  another.  The  choosing  of 
human  material  is  the  most  important  function  which  an 
executive  is  called  on  to  perform,  and  as  it  is  the  most  impor- 
tant, it  is  also  the  most  difficult.  Material  may  be  analyzed  and 
tested,  specifications  drawn  up  and  comparisons  made ;  but  labor 
can  be  fully  tested  only  as  it  is  tried  out  in  actual  practice. 

Psychologists  are  trying  hard  to  reduce  human  material  to  a 
definitely  determinable  basis.  Employment  experts  who  claim 
to  be  able  to  apply  the  tests  of  the  laboratory  in  a  practical 
commercial  way  have  developed  and  have  been  employed  in  some 
concerns. 

In  certain  lines  of  specialized  work  where  a  large  number  of 
employees  are  required,  some  encouraging  results  have  been 
obtained  through  laboratory  experimentation. 

Prof.  Hugo  Miinsterberg  of  Harvard  has  been  particularly 
successful  in  picking  out  telephone  operators  and  motormen  by 
means  of  psychological  tests.  Certain  definite  qualifications  for 
these  two  positions  are  required  which  can  be  determined  by 
laboratory  methods.  In  a  series  of  tests  involving  several  hun- 
dred applicants,  ninety  per  cent  of  those  chosen  by  the  Miinster- 
berg methods  made  good  while  only  fifty  per  cent  of  those 
chosen  in  the  ordinary  way  succeeded.  Motormen  chosen  in  the 
same  way  made  good  in  similar  proportions. 

Dr.  Katherine  Blackford  has  worked  out,  as  a  result  of  a  long 
series  of  observations,  certain  methods  of  judging  a  person 's  fit- 
ness for  a  particular  class  of  work  and  of  telling  with  approx- 


HOW   TO   PICK   THE   BEST   MAN 


33 


imate  accuracy  whether  an  applicant  will  make  good  at  this  work 
or  not.  In  spite  of  these  promising  developments,  however,  the 
science  is  still  in  its  infancy,  and  cannot  yet  be  said  to  fit  the 
daily  routine  of  ordinary  commercial  establishments. 

Are  there,  then,  any  methods  for  choosing  men  which  are  prac- 
tical for  everyday  business?  Many  executives  believe  there  are. 
Methods  followed  by  various  successful  employers  always  will 
vary,  but  certain  general  principles  are  common  to  all. 

Employees  should  be  judged  as  definitely  as  possible,  accord- 
ing to  their  qualifications  for  the  work  which  they  are  to  do. 


Qualities  to  Look  for 
in  Hiring  Men 


Heavy  Laborers 


Light  Laborers 


Molders 


Heavy  Machine  Work 


Light  Machine  Work 


Heavy  Assemblers 


Light  Assemblers 


Strength 

Endurance 

Docility  and  Patience 

Alertness 
Endurance 
Quickness 

Strength 
Endurance 
Experience 
^ome  Intelligence 

Strength 
Experience 
Fair  Intelligence 
Jome  Education 

Alertness 
Deftness  of  Hand 
Experience 
Fair  Intelligence 
Jome  Education 

Endurance 

Strength 

Intelligence  of  Mentality 

Some  Understanding  of  Machinery 

Endurance 
Training 
Experience 
Deftness  of  Hand 
Patience 


FIGURE   V:      Work  has  become  so  specialized  that  skilful  employment  managers  have  been 

able  to  "analyze  the  job"  and   lay   down   specifications   for  men  who  are  to  undertake  different 

tasks.    An  elementary  analysis  of  this  sort  is  here  shown 

The  man  who  would  make  a  successful  pig-iron  handler  might 
be  too  slow-witted  for  trucking  duty,  or  the  grinder  of  large 
tools,  too  heavy-handed  for  a  watchmaker.  As  an  initial  step 
it  is  well  to  make  a  list  of  the  various  groups  into  which  the 


34 BUILDING   UP  THE  FORCE 

workers  may  be  divided  and  then  to  list  under  each  class  those 
qualifications  that  are  (1)  necessary  and  (2)  desirable. 

Assume  a  typical  plant  manufacturing  machine  tools,  and 
consider  the  various  classes  of  workers  who  must  be  employed 
and  the  various  qualifications  which  should  be  sought  in  each 
class.  In  such  a  plant,  workers  might  well  be  classified  as :  heavy 
laborers,  light  laborers,  molders,  men  for  heavy  machine  work, 
men  for  light  machine  work,  heavy  assemblers,  light  assemblers, 
die  and  tool  makers  (Figure  V). 

Basic  qualifications  which  all  of  these  different  classes  of 
workers  in  this  or  any  plant  should  possess  are:  cleanliness, 
reliability,  sobriety,  industry  and  good  nature.  There  are 
definite  ways  for  the  man  in  charge  of  employment  to  deter- 
mine who  does  and  who  does  not  possess  these  basic  qualifica- 
tions. 

Consider  cleanliness.  Any  man  who  fails  to  measure  up  on 
this  score  under  inspection,  no  matter  what  his  other  qualifica- 
tions are,  should  be  rejected.  He  will,  as  a  rule,  be  slovenly  in 
his  work,  lazy,  undesirable  from  every  point  of  view. 

"Is  the  applicant  a  man  who  can  be  depended  upon?"  is  the 
next  test.  Will  he  stick  to  the  job  if  he  secures  it?  Is  he  a 
man  who  will  lift  or  shift  burdens?  An  investigation  of  his 
past  record  will  usually  decide.  Detailed  records  of  the  appli- 
cant's past  employment  must  be  obtained  from  him,  and  sufficient 
time  should  elapse  before  he  is  accepted  to  allow  inquiry  into 
this  record.  Much  can  be  determined  in  connection  with  this 
quality  by  consulting  the  merchants  from  whom  the  man  buys 
his  necessary  supplies.  Inquiry  of  his  landlord  or  his  boarding- 
house  keeper,  and  an  inspection  of  his  home  and  family  also  will 
go  far  toward  determining  the  man's  reliability. 

It  may  seem  impractical  and  unnecessary  to  go  to  all  this 
trouble  in  connection  with  a  man  who  is  going  to  be  employed 
on  a  labor  gang  for  a  couple  of  dollars  a  day,  but  it  is  not. 
From  the  laboring  gang  and  the  men  whom  you  are  employing 
today  will  be  chosen  your  advanced  workers  of  tomorrow.  No 
man  should  be  employed  simply  on  the  basis  of  his  ability  to  do 
just  the  work  on  hand.  He  is  going  to  become,  rather,  a  fixture 
in  the  organization,  a  permanent  asset  of  the  business.  It  is  the 
recognition  of  this  basic  fact  in  employment  that  may  make 


HOW  TO  PICK  THE  BEST  MAN 


APPLICATION  for  POSITION 

(Continued) 


What  school  have  you  completed?. 


What  studies  did  you  like  best?. 


What  least? ! 

What  kind  of  work  do  you  like  best? 

What  are  you  doing  to.  Improve  yourself?. 


Remarks,  re  your  experience,  etc.. 


Employment  Dept. 

The  AMERICA  METALWARE  CO. 


ANALYSIS  Of  APPLICANT 

Date 191  _ 


Name_ 
Address. 
Age 


.  Height . 


Weight. 


Temperament^ 


.Texture. 


Health 

Persistent 

Orderly 

QuickC 


Mark  whether  this  applicant  has  (+-)  a  high  degree  of, 
(V)  a  moderate  amount  of,  or  (— )  a  lack  of  the  following: 

Dependable Intelligent 

_,  Forceful Neat Accurate 


Teachable , 

General  appearance  of  body 
Adapted  to  mental  work  _ 
Adapted  to  Indoor  work; 


Careful. 
Cheerful. 
Strength . 


Punctual. 
Practical. 
Educated. 


.of  dress . 


Ambitious. 
Resourceful. 
Adaptable  _ 


a!  work 


outdoor  work 


Has  the  applicant  been  successful  In  past?. 
Is  there  a  good  reason  for  changing? 


Has  applicant  good  knowledge  of  work  to  be  done?. 

Is  good  Judgment  shown? 

Does  the  applicant  live  at  home? 

Remarks  t 


.Are  references  satisfactory? . 


Recommendations. 


Efficiency 


alyzed 


ANALYSIS  of  APPLICANT    (Continued) 

RECORD  of  EMPLOYEE 


Date         Foreman       Dept 


Kind  of  Work       Special  Ability     Eff.    Total  Pay      Remarks 


FORMS  II-IV:  These  forms  are  in  successful  use  in  a  plant  whose  employment  manager 
uaes  advanced  methods  of  character  analysis.  At  the  top  is  shown  the  reverse  of  the  application 
blank;  the  applicant's  answers  to  these  questions  help  to  indicate  his  character.  "On  the  Analysis 
of  Applicant"  the  skilled  employment  man  marks  his  own  estimate.  The  "Record  of  Employee" 
on  the  reverse  of  the  sheet  keeps  a  close  check  upon  the  value  of  this  analysis 


86 BUILDING   UP  THE  FORCE 

the  difference  between  a  successful  and  an  unsuccessful  busi- 
ness. 

Then  take  the  question  of  sobriety.  The  workman  who  gets 
drunk  on  Saturday  night  is  nof  fit  to  do  his  work  on  Monday. 
Production  charts  of  many  plants  have  shown  a  slump  in  output 
ranging  from  ten  to  thirty  per  cent  on  Monday,  owing  to  the 
personal  habits  of  the  workmen.  Furthermore,  the  man  who 
spends  his  money  on  liquor  is  not  able  to  maintain  a  satisfactory 
home,  and  to  secure  the  peace  of  mind  and  the  physical  nourish- 
ment which  are  necessary  for  his  maximum  efficiency.  It  is  in 
order,  therefore,  not  to  guess  but  to  make  a  personal  investiga- 
tion of  the  man's  life,  by  inquiry  from  the  tradesmen  with 
^whom  he  deals,  of  his  priest  or  minister  if  he  is  affiliated  with  a 
church,  of  the  policeman  covering  the  beat  where  he  lives  and 
of  his  neighbors,  friends  and  associates. 

Worker  or  shirker?  is  the  next  question.  The  man's  indus- 
try must  be  determined  principally  by  a  study  of  his  record  with 
past  employers  if  he  has  previously  been  employed,  or,  if  he  is 
seeking  employment  for  the  first  time,  by  inquiries  of  his  teachers 
and  associates. 

To  get  the  best  results  from  a  plant,  finally,  a  happy,  good- 
natured  spirit  must  prevail.  A  wise  manager  wants  everyone  in 
his  organization  to  be  happy.  If  some  are  not  happy  they  can- 
not work  well — they  cannot  do  good  work — they  hinder  one 
another — and  the  success  of  the  business  is  threatened.  If  the 
employment  man,  while  securing  the  information  on  which  to 
base  his  inquiry  into  other  qualities,  will  watch  the  eyes  and 
lips  of  his  man  and  note  whether  or  not  his  conversation  is 
hopeful  and  friendly,  he  can  grade  closely  the  applicant's  good 
nature. 

ONLY  A  THOROUGH  INVESTIGATION  OF  RECORDS 
SIFTS  OUT  THE  BEST  APPLICANTS 

HP  HOUGH  custom  varies,  it  is  often  inadvisable  to  ask  the  ap- 
plicant to  fill  out  a  blank.  To  fill  out  the  application  for  him, 
asking  him  the  necessary  questions  and  noting  his  manner  of 
replying  gives  a  peculiar  insight  into  his  character.  That  none 
of  these  questions  may  be  overlooked,  they  should  all  be  listed 
on  a  suitable  blank. 


Apprentice  training  in  the  General  Electric  Company — both  classroom  theory  and  shop  practice — is 
here  shown.      In  the  course  each  apprentice  has  practical  work  in  both  mechanical  drawing  and  the 
laying  out  of  the  work  itself  after  the  drawing  has  been  perfected 


The  study  of  mechanics  (belowj  and  the  work  of  the  first  year  apprentices  in  the  General  Elec- 
tric molding  course  (above.)  are  planned  by  skilled  instructors  and  carried  out  under  close  super- 
vision.     Each  apprentice  is  required  to  choose  a  definite  trade  jand  to  work  at  it  from  one  to  two 
months  in  order  to  show  his  fitness  for  that  trade  before  entering  the  courses 


HOW  TO  PICK  THE   BEST   MAN 39 

The  applicant,  having  measured  up  successfully  to  all  of  these 
general  questions,  must  now  be  considered  from  the  point  of 
view  of  his  special  qualifications  for  the  work  in  immediate 
prospect. 

The  physical  qualities  which  different  classes  of  work  (Figure 
V)  demand  can  best  be  determined  by  a  physical  examination. 
An  examination  of  this  sort  is  demanded  of  applicants  for  the 
army  and  navy,  for  the  police  force,  mail  carriers  and  by  many 
of  the  larger  railroad  companies.  It  may  well  be  extended  even 
to  the  smaller  concerns,  whose  needs  can  be  met  at  small  expense 
by  a  local  physician. 

Other  qualifications  can  be  determined  by  the  man  in  charge 
of  employment,  studying  the  face,  hands,  general  appearance 
and  speed  of  the  candidate. 

Investigation  of  the  previous  employment  record  usually  dis- 
closes the  training  and  experience.  Entire  reliance,  however, 
should  not  be  placed  on  references.  A  worker  with  an  indiffer- 
ent history  or  apparently  too  little  experience  may  prove  to  be 
the  best  of  "raw  material. "  Then,  too,  the  blame  for  a  man 
failing  to  make  good  in  a  previous  connection  may  be  fully  as 
much  with  his  previous  employer  as  with  himself. 

Operations  differ  so  much  from  bench  to  bench,  and  factory 
to  factory,  that  every  employment  chief  needs  to  make  his  own 
tabulation  of  qualities.  The  analysis  reproduced  suggests  how 
he  may  do  this.  To  put  off  this  preparation  until  men  are 
urgently  needed,  however,  often  results  in  serious  blunders.  The 
same  principles  apply  to  the  judgment  of  head  workers,  but 
deeper  study  is  required,  of  both  place  and  man.  A  definite 
list  of  required  qualifications  for  each  of  the  different  kinds  of 
work  involved  will  guide  the  employer  accurately  in  his  investi- 
gation of  the  applicant. 

The  general  qualifications  of  cleanliness,  reliability,  sobriety, 
industry  and  good  nature  apply  just  as  forcibly  to  head  workers 
as  they  do  to  hand  workers,  and  should  perhaps  be  even  more 
strictly  adhered  to  in  picking  out  the  executive  staff. 

Here  again  the  few  dollars  spent  in  careful  investigation  of 
an  applicant's  record  before  employment  is  a  wise  investment, 
for  nothing  is  more  costly  than  the  constant  hiring  and  firing 
of  office  and  executive  help. 


40 BUILDING  UP  THE  FORCE 

As  far  as  possible  in  hiring  men  for  headwork  positions,  their 
availability  for  higher  positions  later  on  should  be  considered. 

Personality  becomes  a  matter  of  great  importance,  particu- 
larly in  employing  the  salesmen  anil  higher  executives  who  are 
to  control  the  force  or  meet  the  trade.  Many  executives 
make  it  a  rule  to  employ  no  one  for  such  positions  whose  per- 
sonality would  not  permit  him  to  become  a  personal  friend. 
Doubtless  good  men  have  been  lost  by  applying  this  rule,  but 
on  the  whole  it  has  worked  out  admirably.  Every  organization 
is  bound  to  reflect  more  or  less  the  personality  of  the  man  at 
the  head  of  it.  If  he  is  of  the  right  kind,  the  more  definite  this 
reflection  is,  the  more  successful  the  business  is  likely  to  be. 
If  employers  insist  on  employing  men  whom  they  do  not  care  to 
know  personally,  how  can  they  hope  that  these  men  will  create 
the  right  impression  on  lower  employees  or  the  people  with 
whom  they  come  in  contact  outside  of  the  business  ? 

It  is  a  mighty  good  rule  when  employing  a  man  for  a  position 
of  any  importance  to  take  him  home  to  dinner  or  to  spend  an 
evening  with  him  at  the  club.  In  this  way  you  will  come  in 
close  personal  contact  with  him  and  will  easily  determine 
whether  or  not  he  has  a  sympathetic  personality  and  a  good 
character. 

The  proper  choice  of  human  material  is  of  the  most  vital  char- 
acter in  the  building  up  of  a  successful  business.  Definite  deter- 
mination of  the  qualifications  required  for  each  position  and 
careful  checking  of  the  applicant  against  these  desired  qualifica- 
tions goes  far  toward  assuring  successful  choice. 

Time  and  money  spent  in  coming  to  know  the  abilities  of  the 
applicant  is  well  spent  and  will  be  returned  many  times  over  in 
increased  profits,  if  men  are  hired  for  development  and  promo- 
tion. 


IV 


STARTING  MEN  RIGHT 


LINED  up  in  a  large  room  of  the  plant  through  which  a 
manufacturer  was  recently  ushering  a  visitor,  were  about 
seventy-five  men  and  boys  from  sixty  down  to  fourteen 
years  of  age.     Each  was  waiting  his  turn  to  "have  a  try"  at 
the  men  behind  the  desk,  who  hired  the  factory  help. 

"About  one  in  ten  of  these  greenies  may  be  taken  on,  and  of 
those  who  land  a  job,  perhaps  one  in  five  will  make  good,"  said 
the  manufacturer  bluntly. 

' '  How  do  you  teach  the  new  hands  their  work, ' '  he  was  asked. 

"I  haven 't  time  to  teach  them,"  said  he.  "It's  up  to  the 
man  to  make  good  or  chase  himself.  We  can't  bother  to  make 
mechanics. ' ' 

This  manufacturer  had  spent  more  than  $100,000  on  his  fac- 
tory and  machinery.  He  was  not  a  crank  on  labor  questions. 
The  men  in  his  employ  who  did  make  good  were  fairly  treated. 
If  any  new  mechanical  appliance  came  out  that  spelled  greater 
efficiency,  he  was  among  the  first  to  adopt  it.  He  failed,  how- 
ever, to  realize  that  his  most  valuable  asset  walked  away  from 
him  every  day,  and  sometimes  in  pretty  much  dilapidated  shoe 
leather. 

Getting  the  right  machines  is  no  bigger  task  than  getting  and 
keeping  the  right  men.  In  accomplishing  this,  much  depends 
upon  getting  the  man  into  a  favorable  attitude  at  the  start,  upon 
his  learning  the  ropes,  feeling  at  home  and  giving  the  business 
his  loyalty.  It  is  impossible,  for  instance,  to  keep  men  long  who 
feel  themselves  to  be  strangers,  looked  upon  with  suspicion  by 
the  older  hands  and  unfamiliar  with  their  surroundings. 


42 BUILDING  UP  THE  FORCE 

In  one  plant  where  the  manager  recognizes  the  importance  of 
starting  men  right,  the  employment  department  furnishes  each 
new  worker  with  a  little  booklet  that  describes  in  an  entertain- 
ing way  the  factory  and  its  product.  The  booklet  is  so  attrac- 
tive that  the  man  is  likely  not  only  to  read  it,  but  to  keep  it 
and  refer  to  it. 

Each  new  man,  moreover,  is  taken  through  the  factory  by  a 
clerk  of  the  employment  department,  who  introduces  him  to 
every  foreman  with  whom  he  is  likely  to  come  in  contact.  His 
own  foreman  in  turn  takes  him  around  and  introduces  him  to 
the  men  in  his  department,  and  gradually  explains  the  pecu- 
liarities of  his  work  and  surroundings. 

The  result  is  that  the  new  man  "feels  at  home"  at  once. 

The  manager  of  this  plant  was  prompted  to  this  procedure 
by  the  heavy  quota  of  quits  and  new  men,  which  kept  his  or- 
ganization continually  in  a  turmoil.  After  trailing  several  new 
men  during  their  first  days  of  work,  he  found  that :  '  *  We  show 
possible  customers,  visitors  and  even  competitors  through  our 
plant;  yet  our  own  men  do  not  know  what  they  are  doing  or 
why  they  are  doing  it  and  are  started  in  without  any  effort  on 
our  part  to  show  them  how." 

Since  the  plan  of  introducing  the  man  to  his  place  has  been 
worked  out,  this  factory  has  found  that  good  men  stay  much 
longer  and  new  men  have  to  be  broken  in  more  rarely  than 
before.  An  increase  in  output  also  is  evident. 

PLANS  THAT  HELP  THE  NEW  EMPLOYEE 
TO  GET  DOWN  TO  WORK 

T  OCALISMS  and  factory  customs  often  exist  which  the  new 
man  wishes  and  needs  to  know.  The  factory  often  has  tra- 
ditions or  a  distinct  personality  which  will  gain  the  good  will 
and  cooperation  of  the  new  men.  To  cover  these  points  several 
concerns  issue  the  employees '  booklets  in  various  languages,  so  as 
to  reach  all  new  employees  (Figure  VI). 

Such  a  booklet  usually  gives  starting  and  quitting  time,  fire 
drills,  dates  of  payday  and  method  of  payment,  sick  benefit 
associations,  profit-sharing  conditions  if  such  are  in  effect  and 
list  of  officers.  A  short  history  of  the  company  sometimes  fol- 
lows and  perhaps  a  handy  local  map  for  the  newcomer. 


STARTING    MEN   RIGHT 


43 


Another  phase  of  the  new  man's  introduction  to  his  work  is 
the  personal  or  social  side.  In  the  small  shop  or  department  or 
gang  the  new  employee  wants  to  know  those  with  whom  he  is 
to  work.  Many  managers  feel  that  a  foreman  can  start  a  new 


133S«&« 


Uborm  living  the  employ  of  the 
(qnittinj).  will  not  be  r^mplojed 
the  expiration  of  ifteen  d«y«. 


FIGURE  VI:  The  three  pages  shown  above  are  from  the  handbook  given  to  new  employees  at 
the  Inland  Steel  Company;  the  two  below,  at  the  Universal  Portland  Cement  Company.  Among  the 
interesting  points  shown  are  the  expert  advice  upon  health,  the  attention  drawn  to  everyday 
hygiene,  the  instruction  in  the  plant  regulations,  "safety  first,"  and  fire  protection.  The  page  shown 
in  heavy  type  illustrates  the  practice  of  requiring  new  workmen  to  read  the  warnings  against  accidents 

man  in  no  better  way  than  to  introduce  him  to  his  co-workers. 
Where  an  employees'  organization  exists  special  efforts  are  some- 
times made  periodically  to  give  the  new  man  a  good  send-off 
socially. 


44 BUILDING   UP  THE  FORCE 

One  firm  when  enlarging  its  plant  in  a  locality  where  housing 
conditions  made  it  almost  impossible  to  hold  the  needed  help, 
found  it  worth  while  even  to  start  a  file  for  the  registration  of 
rooms  and  houses  for  rent.  Suitable  forms  were  printed  and 
supplied  to  real  estate  men  and  landlords  with  the  request  to  fill 
them  out  and  return  them  for  record.  The  traffic  department  of 
the  factory,  at  the  same  time,  took  over  the  routine  work  of  han- 
dling freight  and  household  effects  for  the  newcomers.  These 
methods  enabled  the  out-of-town  man  to  get  down  to  work  from 
the  start  and  gave  the  concern  an  enviable  reputation  for  attract- 
ing and  holding  men. 

MANY  MANUFACTURERS  APPOINT  REGULAR  INSTRUCTORS 
TO  TEACH  NEW  MEN 

A  FTER  the  routine  of  introducing  a  man  has  been  settled, 
the  greater  problem  still  remains  of  his  actual  ability  and 
duties.  If  he  comes  to  you  saying  that  he  is  a  skilled  employee, 
how  are  you  to  know  that  his  honest  interpretation  of  the  word 
''skilled"  parallels  yours?  Perhaps  your  product  requires  a 
greater  degree  of  refinement  in  workmanship  than  he  is  used 
to.  Perhaps  your  foreman  assigns  him  a  machine  and  some 
material,  leaves  him,  comes  three  or  four  days  later  and  deter- 
mines from  his  pile  of  spoiled  work  how  much  or  how  little  he 
can  do?  Does  that  pile  show  his  capacity  fairly? 

"What  system  of  instruction  have  you  for  your  green  hands 
other  than  pointers  given  by  fellow  workers?"  This  problem 
was  recently  put  to  two  hundred  manufacturers  in  many 
branches  of  industry.  The  replies  cover  a  wide  range  of  ex- 
perience, running  the  gamut  from  frank  admission  of  entire 
neglect  of  method  in  starting  new  men  to  a  description  of  the 
highly  developed  specific  instruction  supplied  under  scientific 
management  principles. 

A  Vermont  manufacturer  trusts  the  nearest  machine  operator 
to  "tip  off"  the  new  man  as  to  his  duties.  An  Ohio  manu- 
facturer puts  all  green  hands  under  the  direct  responsibility  of 
the  job  foremen,  who  are  in  turn  responsible  to  the  foremen  of 
the  departments.  By  this  method,  the  job  foreman  can  devote 
more  time  to  teaching  each  man. 


STARTING    MEN  RIGHT 45 

The  reply  from  a  New  York  state  manufacturer  indicates  that 
the  problem  of  starting  men  has  been  considered  logically  ac- 
cording to  the  class  of  work: 

"In  one  department  where  we  employ  men  and  where  the 
work  would  be  classed  as  skilled,  the  employees  are  divided  into 
groups  of  about  twenty-five.  Each  group  is  in  charge  of  a  sub- 
foreman  responsible  to  a  general  foreman.  The  sub-foreman  ex- 
plains the  operation  and  gives  further  instruction  where  neces- 
sary. A  group  of  twenty-five  will  be  principally  experienced 
hands,  with  a  few  apprentices.  The  latter  expect  no  direct  in- 
struction from  fellow  workmen,  as  this  is  all  given  by  the  fore- 
man and  sub-foreman. 

1 '  In  another  department  where  we  employ  girls,  beginners  are 
placed  beside  more  experienced  operators  who  are  expected  to 
give  them  instruction.  This  department  is  on  piecework,  but 
we  have  placed  several  of  the  most  skilled  operators  on  weekly 
wage  and  have  made  it  their  duty  to  instruct  apprentices. " 

SCIENTIFIC  MANAGEMENT  APPLIED  TO 
THE  TRAINING  OF  NEW  MEN 

A  NOTHEB  plan  of  training  by  sub-foremen  is  in  successful 
operation  at  an  eastern  printing  plant: 

"We  have  no  elaborately  developed  schools  or  apprentice  sys- 
tem/' says  the  manager.  "The  group  system  under  the  direc- 
tion of  a  group  boss  is  an  apprentice  system  in  itself,  and  the 
instruction  for  the  performance  of  the  work,  originating  from 
instruction  cards  which  come  from  the  planning  room,  must  be 
right.  The  apprentice,  therefore,  following  the  instructions  of 
his  group  boss  and  his  card,  is  guided  in  the  right  path."  This 
plant  is  operated  on  scientific  management  principles. 

* '  Most  of  our  people, ' '  says  a  Cleveland  garment  maker,  * '  are 
what  we  term  'skilled.'  Girls  often  come  to  us  who  tell  us  that 
they  have  done  their  own  sewing  or  have  worked  for  a  dress- 
maker. This  may  be  true  or  they  may  be  good  along  some  lines 
of  sewing,  yet  not  fitted  for  work  such  as  we  have  in  our  fac- 
tory. 

"These  girls  are  placed  in  our  school  for  a  period  of  two  to 
four  weeks.  Here  they  learn  to  do  things  according  to  our  ways 


46 BUILDING   UP  THE  FORCE 

and  are  paid  six  dollars  per  week.  These  new  employees  are 
always  young  girls.  The  two  weeks  of  schooling,  we  find,  gives 
them  a  self-assurance  which  enables  them  to  do  much  better 
work  when  they  go  into  a  large  room  among  experienced  hands." 

In  a  Philadelphia  plant  where  scientific  management  has  been 
very  thoroughly  applied,  new  men  receive  this  complete  in- 
struction, as  the  vice-president  of  the  concern  described  it : 

"Green  hands  started  at  work  in  our  shops  have  the  benefit 
of  instruction  from  the  various  functional  foremen.  The  gang 
boss  instructs  them  in  setting  of  work  on  their  machines,  seeing 
that  their  tools  and  work  are  brought  to  them  in  advance,  and 
so  on.  The  speed  boss,  who  might  more  properly  be  termed  the 
instructor  in  machine  operation,  teaches  them  in  the  handling 
of  their  machines,  the  use  of  cutting  tools,  and  other  matters 
pertaining  to  the  operation  of  the  machine  itself,  and  in  connec- 
tion with  the  work  being  done  while  the  machine  is  in  operation. 
The  inspector  gives  them  instruction  in  all  matters  pertaining 
to  the  quality  of  the  work. 

"  All  of  the  instruction  given  by  these  functional  foremen  is 
the  best  known  method,  laid  out  by  the  planning  department 
and  covered  by  an  instruction  card  which  is  made  up  on  each 
operation  to  be  performed  on  each  part. 

"We  have  no  formal  apprenticeship  system,  but  we  employ 
young  men  under  instruction  by  the  functional  foremen,  start- 
ing them  on  work  of  a  simple  character  and  gradually  advanc- 
ing them  until  they  become  all  around  workmen. 

"We  have  a  very  definite  method  for  measuring  losses  due  to 
green  hands,  but  the  loss  from  this  source  is  very  small  indeed, 
as  the  functional  foremen  give  special  attention  to  green  hands 
and  do  everything  possible  to  avoid  this  sort  of  loss.  In  the 
great  majority  of  cases,  spoilage  of  work  by  green  hands  is  the 
fault  of  the  management  rather  than  the  men." 

In  more  than  one  plant,  the  rule  has  been  adopted  that  no  man 
will  be  promoted  or  transferred  to  new  work  until  he  has 
trained  and  broken  in  his  successor.  Besides  training  the  new 
men,  one  plant  puts  all  the  advancing  employees  through  a  sort 
of  service  examination  and  incidentally  brings  to  notice  those 
who  are  especially  gifted  to  teach.  From  prospects  thus  devel- 
oped, instructors  may  be  picked  for  a  training  system. 


STARTING   MEN  RIGHT 47 

It  is  not  always  possible  at  the  outset,  even  after  considerable 
study,  to  see  for  what  work  a  man  is  best  fitted — to  get  him 
immediately  started  on  the  right  road.  Adapting  men  to  jobs 
is  quite  likely  to  be  a  process  rather  than  a  matter  of  quick 
decision,  though  the  latter  is  too  often  attempted  and  left  as 
final. 

The  great  mistake  is  not  in  misplacing,  but  in  failing  to  shift 
later.  Too  often  a  man  is  put  at  the  wrong  work  and  then  is 
forgotten  or  "fired."  Hollis  Godfrey  in  a  discussion  at  the  Tuck 
School  conference  on  scientific  management,  in  speaking  from  the 
scientific  management  viewpoint,  said  of  the  men  whose  first 
step  has  been  unfortunate: 

"If  a  workman  does  not  succeed,  we  consider  that  it  is  up  to 
us  to  show  him  how  to  succeed.  Instead  of  blaming  him  we  try 
first  to  see  what  is  the  matter  with  the  management.  If  a  work- 
man cannot  do  the  work  in  one  job,  we  find  another  job  for  him, 
put  him  at  that  and  educate  him  there.  If  a  man  has  a  job 
which  needs  strength  in  his  hands,  and  he  has  not  that,  scientific 
management  does  not  say  *  throw  him  out* — it  says,  'find  the 
job  he  can  do  with  the  hands  which  he  has ;  that  is,  fit  the  man 
to  the  work/  " 


.41 


V 


RECORDS  THAT  GAGE 
WORK  AND  WORTH 


EMPLOYMENT  records  formerly  consisted  of  an  item  to 
the  bookkeeper  when  a  new  man  was  hired,  time  cards 
for  his  wages  and  another  note  or  word  to  the  accountant 
when  he  left.  These  records  are  still  held  sufficient  in  the  aver- 
age small  shop  where  the  personal  acquaintance  of  the  super- 
intendent with  his  men  roughly  takes  the  place  of  records  which 
indicate  the  value  and  possibilities  of  workers.  But  the  failures 
of  memory  as  matched  against  records  have  won  over  many  small 
concerns  to  the  new  way.  In  the  plant  that  handles  thousands 
or  even  hundreds  of  men,  the  employment  heads  now  absolutely 
require  accounting  methods  on  labor  sources  and  "bad  risks," 
akin  to  the  purchasing  agent's  files  on  material  sources  and 
stores  on  hand. 

Sources  of  labor  supply  make  up  one  file.  This  sometimes 
consists  of  actual  applications  filled  out  by  men  looking  for 
places  and  marked  with  the  employment  manager's  preference, 
or  a  file  of  3x5  or  5x8  cards  will  be  maintained,  on  which  the 
essentials  of  applications,  recommendations  and  cases  of  work- 
men released  because  of  illness  or  slack  time,  are  briefly  noted. 
When  records  of  employees  have  been  kept,  the  record  card  or 
envelope,  including  the  "quit  slip,'*  is  shifted  or  copied  to  this 
file,  so  that  it  is  easy  to  identify  the  same  applicant  should  he 
return,  and  to  accept  or  reject  him  according  to  his  record. 

"With  the  man  actually  at  work,  a  number  of  records  are 
needed  to  get  (1)  a  careful  estimate  of  the  man  when  employed; 
(2)  a  running  history  of  his  work,  indicating  what  he  should  be 
paid  and  where  he  will  fit  best  as  vacancies  call  for  men.  The 


GAGING   WORK  AND   WORTH 


essential  points  may  be  taken  care  of  on  a  few  simple  forms,  or 
in  the  factory  employing  its  thousands,  may  require  complete 
records  with  manifolds  for  various  departments  (Figure  VII). 
Where  a  simple  outline  record  only  is  required  to  refresh  the 


FIGURE  VII:      The  essential  points  to  know  about  applicants  and  employees  and  the  basic  forms 

covering  these  points  are  here  listed.     Any  system  is  likely  to  run  to  red  tape  unless  frequently  checked 

against  some  such  outline  and  brought  back  to  the  vital  purposes.      These  points  are  very  easily 

covered  in  a  small  plant,  but  require  cross-reference  conveniences  in  the  large  factory 

memory  of  the  management,  this  is  carried  on  the  front  and 
back  of  a  3x5  card  (Forms  V  and  VI).  This  card  record  is  sup- 
plemented by  an  applicant's  book  in  which  the  best  men  are 
listed  in  order  as  they  apply.  When  an  employee  leaves,  his 
card  is  brought  up  to  date  under  the  heading  of  ''Remarks," 
after  which  it  is  transferred  to  an  "ex"  file  of  workmen  who 
are  available  for  re-employment. 

A  FILING  METHOD  THAT  FACILITATES  THE 
HIRING  OF  THE  RIGHT  MEN 

A  LMOST  every  big  industrial  plant  has  worked  out  an  em- 
ployment system  to  meet  its  own  needs.     An  engineering 
firm  that  has  charge  of  the  operation  of  some  thirty  buildings 


50 


BUILDING   UP  THE  FORCE 


in  New  York  is  constantly  in  need  of  men  with  special  training. 
To  supply  this  want,  a  labor  source  file  is  used,  with  alpha- 
betical name  cards  on  which  the  tabs  are  differently  placed  to 
indicate  an  engineer,  a  fireman,  air*elevator  man  or  a  porter. 

When  help  is  to  be  hired  in  a  large  city  for  work  at  a  suburban 
plant  forms  are  needed  on  which  every  foreman  can  requisition 
the  needed  workmen.  With  the  following  system,  clerks  keep 
an  intelligent  record  of  twelve  thousand  employees. 

Each  foreman  is  required  to  list  (Form  VII)  the  number  of 
new  workmen  of  each  kind  he  needs  in  a  given  time.  When  he 
wants  men,  he  sends  the  employment  department  an  "  Advice 


Record 


Entered  Our  Employ 


raise 
6/25      .     8/5 


Rate  per  Hour 


23 


26 


Left  Our  Employ        9/27/12 


Reason      illness 


Remarks: 


Employment  Report 


Name       Rector,  J.  G. 


Dept.        Cabinet 


Address       736  Roosevelt  Ave. 


Date         e/25/12 


Started  Work  at       8:00 


o'clock,  as,  (class  of  work)       Lldder 


Rate  per  Hour 


23 


Clock  No.      42- 


Approved 


Sup't 


Foreman 


FORMS  V  and 'VI:    Front  and  reverse  of  a  3x5  filing  card,  carrying  the   simplest  type  of  an 

employment  record.    The  front  of  the  card  is  filled  when  a  man  starts  work  and  his  later  history  » 

recorded  on  the  back.    Ample  space  is  left  for  remarks 

of  Workmen  Required"  (Form  VIII).    This  card  must  bear  the 
signature  of  the  department  and  general  foreman. 

Applicants  are  first  questioned  as  to  the  kind  of  work  they 
can  do  and  desire,  and  then  divided  by  classes  in  another  wait- 


GAGING   WORK  AND   WORTH 


51 


FIELD  MACHINING  DEFT. 


AOVKC  OF  WORKMEN  REQUIRED 

TO  THE  EMPLOYMENT  CLERK  DATE. 

WORKMEN  AS  FOLLOWS  ARE  REQUIRED  IN  SEC.     ^*  ' 


OCCUPATION        OLD  RATE      NEW  RATE       NEW  OR  REPLACING 


^-ffiicAa^aC^> 


Record  of  Employment 


Transfers 


C    0 


32  5 


^  Co^w>, 


q 

VXD 


OF  MY  KNOWLEDGE 
EMPLOYEE'S  SBNATURE 


M«     I  —  3.0-/4.   WITNESS 


THIS  SPACE  FOR  USE 
OF  EMPLOYMENT  DEPT. 


ADVICE  OF  EMPLOYEES  QUIT  OR  DISCHARGED 


ADVICE  OF  TRANSFER  OF  WORKS  EMPLOYEES 

KUEFDEPT.         NO.  X  <•> 


FORWARD  THIS  COPY  TO  EMPLOYMENT  DEPT. 


FORMS  VII-XIV:  Classification  cards  (upper  left)  are  for  each  foreman  to  enumerate  his 
normal  labor  requirements.  The  small  slip  is  the  workman's  check  number  record.  When  the 
foreman  needs  a  new  man  he  uses  the  form  shown  (upper  right);  the  under  card  is  a  "blotter"  record 
of  accepted  applicants.  A  record  of  employment  and  transfers  is  kept  on  the  two  sides  of  one  card 
(middle).  A  complete  record  of  a  transfer  and  also  a  "quit  slip"  are  shown  in  the  lower  forms 

ing  room  where  an  employment  man  has  his  desk.  He  inter- 
views the  applicants,  picks  his  men  and  turns  them  over  to  an 
assistant  at  an  adjoining  desk,  who  lists  them  on  a -"blotter" 
record  of  accepted  applicants  (Form  IX).  They  fill  and  sign 
their  own  record  of  employment  cards  (Form  X).  The  assist- 
ant then  "gives  them  credentials  and  sends  them  to  the  employ- 
ment department  at  the  plant.  Here  the  clerk  makes  out  a 
small  check  card  (Form  XI)  corresponding  to  the  time  check 


BUILDING   UP  THE  FORCE 


the  workman  will  carry  and  files  it  for  identification.  The  em- 
ployment card  is  then  put  in  the  active  file.  These  two  files 
identify  any  workman  either  by,  name  or  number. 


Requisition  for  Help         No.  .  

fat                                                          Rat*    v 

AVERY  COMPANY 

Date                                             »i       Oept 

PEORIA.  ILL 

Employment  Department 

Foreman 

"? 

Requisition  for  Help         Ho. 

Us 

Dati                                                     191 

Avery  Company 
Employment  Oept:                 pate                          191 

I  JS 

Itl 

1  am  returning  to  you 

Name                                                        Check  No. 

J-i 

For  the  following  reason*:  (Give  Exact  Reasons) 

Far 

*ss 

RETURNED    1 

2aS 

DISCHARGED 

III 

QUIT            | 

^fr 

Foreman 

j-S* 

l*{ 

31^ 

*M 

Rating 

bS.ntt0VBU 

|^ 

(Plac*  check  after  following  words  as  case  may  be) 

herewith  on  tha  sbove  requisition,  subject  to  medical  examination. 

M 

CONDUCT         ATTENDANCE          WORK                SPEED 

By 

III 

Good                      StaHy                   Good                      Fast 

Employment  DepL                      Date                         191 
Mr                                                              Is 

8' 

Poor                     Tardiness            |poor                     Slow 
Disturber                          Intenpwati 

competent  to  fill  my  requisition  as  above,  and  will  report  for  work, 
subject  tu  medical  examination  on                                191 

1 

With  reference  to  this  man  1  would  recommend: 
NOTE-  Do  not  discharge  a  msn  except  for  real  cause.  Not  being  able  to 

His  rate  will  be 

f«i 

h  t  h            fit  th          k  f  "              th     ri       rt        t     f  I      H           /"on' 

Dtpt 

fit 

=*i 

other  kind  of  work. 

Back  Number                                   Received  from  Paymaster 

S*I 

iii 

5*2 

^i^i^^^iifSS^i^i^^    &'•' 

9 

Department  tool*  returned                      Foreman 
Ml  tools,  tool  checks  and  other  articles  loaned  this  man  have  been  returned 
natt                   191 

i^^iSl^^ii^il^Piili^i  ;••'•  •->" 

For  the  Tool  Department 

:;:.:'.;y;:/;'ivv    •'••"   .:•'.(•.      k:::::::::;;f<V^W-iOft:^^:^;:.;-^/.:SKO-' 

ji^^^^^Hj^^^^^^^^^^^^^ii^ 

tis' 

Disposition  —.This  space  for  use  of  Employment  Department  only) 

•'•'••^'•^'^•••'•''^•••••^•:'-':  -  '•'.•:'••  jSjj     %M%$^$;$I8$M 
KiScir^n^bfjffs                  :;-    .  ;  ••  ;  •>:  '  :;V  ::::'-\.>  x^^S 

DEPARTMENT  RECORD  OF  EMPLOYEES 
AVERY  COMPANY 

v  ..•  :  ]•/  ^s^^H^^BBfiK  a 

ame 

Chock  No. 

.•         .    .  ''        '  '"  •••'/•'  '••"•'  •'-'   ''  :'  ':v'v':'W:.':0;;;:-V-Y-- 

Date  Examined                                               191 

••^'•••:>  :•'•''••••.  •:  •'  ;•  ••'.•,'  -'-v  '  .  ^~~:':-(  :*».  '::•'•<.  ^  •;  -^-.-^--^ 

AVERY  COMPANY                          G 

enersl 

Date  in.    J 

unp 

Mr.                                                                              H 

eart 

Employment  Office                                   G 
Mr.                                                             for  Oept             H 

enita  s  
ernla 

slon 

for  work.                                   H 

earing 

Disnensarv               M 

uscular  Sy 

stem 

1 

»»                                                        A 

FORMS  XV-XIX:    Some  of  the  more  important  employment  forms  used  by  the  Avery  Company 

are  here  shown.     Beginning  at  the  left,  above,  the  forms  cover  the  department  requisition  for  help, 

and  applicant's  stub,  the  final  record  of  a  man  who  has  left  and  turned  in  his  tools,  and  below,  three  of 

the  medical  examination  forms  which  must  be  filled  out  before  a  man  is  employed 


GAGING   WORK  AND   WORTH 


53 


When  the  employee  quits,  the  foreman  fills  out  a  "quit  slip" 
in  triplicate  (Form  XII).  One  copy  of  this  goes  to  the  pay- 
master; one  to  the  rate  department,  which  keeps  a  record  of 
every  employee's  rate  and  average  premium  earnings;  and  the 
third  to  the  employment  department.  An  employment  clerk 
then  removes  the  ex-employee's  cards  from  both  files  and  inserts 


KEY  TO  DEPARTMENT  RESPONSIBILITY 

;v:    :  .•  .;•!  INDEX  CARD  NQ. 

•  ,-.•.'".••••  '•'•  .;•'•;   •    o.  •-.:•  ,;';;•       tlsr\  •                                                         ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^|^^^B| 

mm 

KEY  TO  INDIVIDUAL  RESPONSIBILITY 

INDEX  CARD  NO. 

ENTER  CARD  NUMBER  U 

NDER 

PROPER  C 

OLU 

MN 

~l     KE 

YTO  i$f&$^^ 

mm 

•  .-.•:•.•  ..;;:•:•;-.-;.  :  :••;••-  7:;:;^:;  ..   '  '•  •  .  /:.  ENTER;  CARD  NUfrsc.R  utsDCR  PROPER  CCLU--/-.^             •       .•-;-  '    .  | 

"   P 

G   [_H      s      r      u      v      .                       :J     /i. 

R   ! 

ij^ppl^i:^: 

CARD                            CUSTOMER 
NO. 

DATE  OF 
CARD 

~ 

CUST'S  ORDER  NO.     OUR  ORDER  NO.          DATE  OF  ORDER 

IDATE  OF  COMP-NT 

KEY  NUMBER  TO 
CLERK  RESPONSIBLE 
PUT  IN  HERE 

NATURE  OF  COMPLAINT 

1    p 

WRONG  MATERIAL  SENT                           S       5^'^.°'  DEL1VERV 

V 

Q 

f^Vc^r1"0 

w 

R 

POOR  QUALITY  OF  MATERIAL                 U       DESIGN  UNSATISFACTORY 

X 

;    EXPLANATION                                                                                                                                     j 

KEY  TO  DEPARTMENT  RESPONSIBLE 

- 

A 

|      .       |      C              0              .              , 

G 

»                  ,                  ,          |        K         |        . 

FORMS  XX-XXIII:    The  top  card  shows  the  department  responsible  fora  complaint.    The  sec- 
ond designates  the  individual  at  fault,  and  the  one  below  it  designates  the  nature  of  the  complaint. 
The  bottom  card  summarizes  the  information  given  on  the  other  three 

the  record  of  employment  in  an  inactive  file.  All  applicants 
are  checked  against  this  file  to  secure  the  record  of  anyone  offer- 
ing himself  for  employment  a  second  time. 

With  nearly  twelve  thousand  people  regularly  employed  and 
many  thousands  changing  every  year,  this  system  has  proved 
an  easy  and  effective  way  to  keep  track  of  workmen.  This  plan, 
however,  makes  little  effort  to  analyze  the  abilities  of  applicants 
and  to  gage  their  development  or  increasing  value,  In  an- 


54 BUILDING   UP  THE   FORCE 

other  system,  put  to  proof  by  a  Buffalo  metalware  company, 
emphasis  has  successfully  been  laid  on  exactly  these  points. 

Applicants  are  first  required  to  fill  out  or  assist  the  employ- 
ment clerk  in  filling  out  an  8x10*  blank.  An  experienced  em- 
ployment man  then  engages  the  applicant  in  conversation  and 
closely  checks  his  characteristics  and  natural  abilities  on  an 
analysis  blank  (Form  III).  The  reverse  of  this  blank  (Form 
IV)  becomes  a  record  of  the  employee,  showing  how  the  employ- 
ment manager  judged  and  placed  the  new  man,  and  his  record 
thereafter. 

In  case  an  employee  is  shown  by  his  production  records  to 
be  either  ineffective  or  deserving  of  promotion,  his  foreman  so 
reports  to  the  employment  department.  After  going  over  his 
record  and  perhaps  interviewing  him  again,  the  employment 
chief  shifts  him  to  fit.  A  further  form  used  in  this  system  is 
the  recommendation  for  employment,  which  was  furnished  to 
the  more  valuable  employees  to  enable  them  to  find  places  for 
friends  with  similar  abilities  and  good  records. 

A  HIGHLY  DEVELOPED  EMPLOYMENT  SYSTEM 
FOR  THE  BIG  FACTORY 

A  STILL  more  elaborate  employment  system  is  used  in  concern 
"^  manufacturing  steel  pipe.  Both  office  and  factory  employees 
come  under  the  plan.  Hundreds  of  applicants  in  a  day  is  not 
an  unusual  crowd  to  handle.  For  office  employees,  a  senior- 
ity plan  of  promotion  prevails  and  most  new  employees  are  boys. 
After  filling  out  a  simple  blank,  applicants  are  given  test  sheets 
carrying  an  hour's  work  in  arithmetic.  The  factory  application 
is  more  complete  and  includes  a  series  of  questions  on  physical 
condition.  If  a  vacancy  exists  and  the  candidate  appears  eligi- 
ble, he  is  sent  to  the  studio  in  the  general  office  building  and 
his  photograph  is  secured.  Prints  of  this  photograph  are  pasted 
in  the  upper  right-hand  corner  of  the  letters  sent  to  his  refer- 
ences. The  use  of  the  photograph  prevents  the  perpetration  of 
any  fraud  in  identity.  In  handling  so  large  a  body  of  men, 
instances  have  occurred  where  an  applicant  assumed  the  name 
of  a  workman  who  had  a  fine  record  with  the  same  or  a  competing 
firm  or,  being  a  good  mechanic,  applied  for  some  friend  or  rela- 


The  new  way  of  initiating  a  man  into  the  work  is  not  to  throw  him  on  his  own  responsibility,  but  to 

place  one  or  more  new  men  in  charge  of  a  skilled  workman  to  show  them  exactly  what  the  working 

conditions  and  their  duties  are.     Still  more  effective  is  the  plan  of  written  standard  practice,  explained 

by  the  "functional  boss"  under  scientific  management 


In  the  Santa  Fe  Railway  shops,  the  training  of  apprentices  has  been  carried  into  many  departments. 
The  upper  view  shows  the  instructor  assisting  an  apprentice  to  lay  out  his  work  and  suggests  tae 
value  of  giving  every  new  employee  a  sense  of  direction,  which  is  becoming  common  practice  in 

progressive  plants 


GAGING   WORK   AND    WORTH 


57 


tive  and  sent  a  substitute  to  take  the  new  job.     The  picture 
pasted  on  the  various  records  makes  identity  certain. 

If  the  references  turn  out  well,  an  envelope  9x1 11/2  is  made 
out  as  a  permanent  employment  record  for  the  new  man.  A 
photograph  is  attached  and  its  date  noted.  The  employee  is 
placed,  given  a  number  and  rate,  and  his  various  applications 


FORMS  XXIV  and  XXV:    The  larger  form  enables  the  workman  to  check  himself  against  the 

estimated  time  on  each  operation,  to  know  his  own  record.     At  the  bottom,  the  instructor  can  check 

any  causes  of  delay.     The  small  form  shows  a  simple  method  of  arriving  at  a  percentage  of  efficiency 

for  each  employee,  based  upon  reports  of  his  record  and  fines  made  necessary  by  his  failures 

and  references  are  assembled  in  the  envelope,  which  goes  to  an 
alphabetical  file.  On  the  envelope  is  printed  a  sort  of  cipher 
code  which  makes  it  possible  to  keep  a  man's  record  for  years 
with  almost  no  clerical  labor.  Certain  letters  indicate  failures, 
while  others  serve  to  record  the  man's  steady  development.  This 
envelope  is  transferred  to  an  ex-employees'  file  when  the  work- 
man leaves.  Change  cards,  quit  slips  and  change-of-address 
cards  are  sent  by  the  foreman  to  the  employment  department 
on  occasion.  Any  employee  who  is  taking  leave  receives  a  final 
time  ticket  which  requires  him  to  be  interviewed  by  the  employ- 


58 BUILDING   UP  THE   FORCE 

ment  manager  before  receiving  his  pay.  This  rule  was  adopted 
to  prevent  good  men  from  getting  away  on  account  of  fancied 
grievances  or  department  jealousies.  After  such  an  interview, 
the  employment  man  notes  the  history  of  the  case  on  the  final 
time  sheet  and  inserts  it  in  the  record  envelope. 

A  card  index  of  all  employees  is  also  maintained.  On  the  tab 
is  the  working  number.  These  are  arranged  serially,  each  divi- 
sion in  each  department  having  its  own  set.  Whenever  a  change 
is  made  on  any  number,  lines  are  drawn  through  the  previous 
name  on  the  card.  One  red  line  indicates  transfer  to  another 
department;  two  red  lines  a  lay-off  because  of  slackness;  one 
black  line  quit ;  two  black  lines  discharge  for  cause.  These  cards 
give  a  constant  perspective  on  working  conditions  in  any  sec- 
tion of  the  plant. 

FINDING  AND  RECORDING  THE  WORK  FOR  WHICH  THE 
APPLICANT  IS  PHYSICALLY  FIT 

"M1  0  expert  attempt  is  indicated  in  this  system  to  find  and  record 
the  physical  condition  of  applicants.  On  this  phase  of  em- 
ployment system  the  practice  of  the  National  Cash  Register 
plant  and  the  Avery  Company  are  suggestive.  On  the  enact- 
ment of  a  new  employers'  liability  act  the  Avery  Company 
determined  to  secure  a  physical  record  of  every  man  an  the  pay- 
roll and  to  maintain  this  record  by  demanding  thereafter  the 
estimate  of  the  company's  physician  on  all  applicants  before 
allowing  them  to  go  to  work. 

A  month  before  the  law  went  into  effect,  the  company  engaged 
two  physicians  and  equipped  an  up-to-date  dispensary.  Sixty 
days  later,  1,942  men  had  had  physical  examination,  or  treat- 
ment for  injury  or  illness. 

Judged  as  a  labor  efficiency  measure,  the  result  was,  in  the 
words  of  Secretary  Avery,  "a  better  moral  tone  throughout  the 
works.  The  men  seem  to  realize  that  they  are  a  picked  body 
of  men  and  show  it  in  their  bearing.  Attendance  at  the  plant 
is  steady,  there  is  less  coming  and  going,  output  has  gone  up 
without  corresponding  increases  in  the  number  of  men,  the  qual- 
ity has  improved.  In  every  way,  conditions  have  shown  a  turn 
for  the  better. 


GAGING   WORK  AND   WORTH 


59 


"The  applicant  for  a  position,  on  his  return  to  the  employ- 
ment office  after  being  accepted  by  the  department  foreman, 
is  taken  in  hand  by  the  chief  of  the  employment  department 
and  formally  interviewed.  First  the  two  go  over  the  shop 
rules.  These  are  printed  on  the  left-hand  side  of  the  front  cover 
of  a  manila  folder  (Figure  VI),  which,  if  the  man  becomes  an 
employee,  constitutes  a  container  for  all  information  relating  to 


HART-PARR  CO.  LABOR  RECORD  SHEET  For 


KtCttt        MCost 


LB*. 


6,40 


4-02$ 


1-30 


*L 


3o_ 


-3.4. 


27 


403.5 


76 


INDIVIDUAL  EFFICIENCY 


4.1 a 


9T 


#3. 


J 


FORMS  XXVI  and  XXVII:  The  larger  card  shows  a  record  by  which  a  company  arrives  at  the 
value  of  the  workman  as  compared  with  the  standard  cost  established  for  the  work  he  does.  As  he 
ceased  to  be  a  loss  and  returned  the  gain  shown  in  the  last  column,  his  hourly  rate  was  increased  so  as 
to  approximate  the  standard  cost.  The  smaller  form  is  used  to  carry  forward  a  record  of  a  man's 
individual  efficiency;  the  "reference"  is  to  the  ledger  page  carrying  the  detailed  entries 

him.  If  the  applicant  is  willing  to  abide  by  the  rules,  he  at- 
taches his  signature  at  the  bottom.  On  the  right-hand  side  of 
the  cover  is  printed  a  form  for  taking  the  man's  past  record. 
This  the  interviewer  fills  out. 

"During  the  examination  many  defects  may  be  observed  which 
bar  a  man  from  employment,  such  as  mental  attitude,  faulty 
vision,  complete  illiteracy,  alcoholism,  venereal  disease.  This 
record  the  applicant  also  verifies  by  signing,  and  underneath  the 
two  signatures  a  witness  must  sign.  All  this  has  a  marked 


60 BUILDING   UP  THE  FORCE 

effect  in  impressing  a  man  with  the  seriousness  of  his  going  to 
work  in  the  shops  of  the  Avery  Company. 

"The  applicant  is  next  sent  to  a  second  waiting  room  adjacent 
to  the  dispensary.  Here  he  strips  to  the  waist  and  first  is 
examined  by  assistants  as  to  vision,  height,  weight,  measure- 
ments,  past  injuries  and  sicknesses,  and  has  his  urine  tested.  A 
physician  then  takes  the  applicant  in  hand  and  completes  the 
more  technical  details.  A  record  is  taken  on  the  inside  of  the 
manila  folder,  which  in  the  meantime  has  been  forwarded  from 
the  employment  department  and  serves  to  notify  the  attendant 
of  the  applicant's  presence  (Forms  XV-XIX). 

' '  The  medical  department  also  assists  the  employment  depart- 
ment in  transfers  and  the  return  of  workers  to  their  tasks  after 
absence  due  to  sickness  or  injury." 

RECORDS  THAT  SHOW  THE  VALUE  OF  EMPLOYEES 
THROUGHOUT  THEIR  TERM  OF  SERVICE 

l_J  OW  to  rate  employees  according  to  their  efficiency  so  that 
payment  will  be  fair  and  promotions  correct  is  perhaps  the 
most  important  of  all  the  problems  of  employment  records.  One 
large  concern  opens  a  ledger  account  with  the  new  employee 
in  any  position  and  credits  him  with  a  "level"  rating  of  one 
hundred  per  cent.  At  the  end  of  each  month  of  service  con- 
sidered satisfactory  by  the  foreman  and  superintendent  in  con- 
ference, two  per  cent  is  added  to  his  credit.  If,  however,  he 
proves  incompetent  in  some  detail  or  earns  demerits,  a  fine  of 
from  two  to  five  per  cent  goes  on  the  debit  side  at  the  close  of 
the  month.  Promotion  usually  falls  to  the  men  with  the  high- 
est percentages.  The  upkeep  of  the  system  requires  only  an 
hour's  work  for  one  clerk. 

In  the  training  school  maintained  at  a  Vermont  machine  shop, 
every  workman  is  taught  his  job  and  is  so  graded  that  the  man- 
agement have  detailed  records  of  his  ability.  Tabulation  of  re- 
sponsibility for  complaints  gives  another  measure  of  employees. 
Upon  receipt  of  any  complaint  from  a  customer  due  to  goods 
shipped  wrong,  poorly  packed,  defective  or  otherwise  unsatisfac- 
tory, a  clerk  enters  the  item  on  an  index  card.  Routine  errors 


GAGING   WORK  AND   WORTH 61 

and  complaints  have  been  classified  and  to  each  group  an  index 
letter  has  been  given,  such  as : 

A — Goods  shipped  to  wrong  address. 

B — Error  in  material  shipped. 

C — Goods  defective  in  material. 

This  cipher  letter  is  entered  after  the  customer's  name  on  the 
card.  Key  numbers  are  also  used  to  indicate  the  person  and 
department  at  fault  after  investigation  has  placed  responsibility. 
The  card  is  given  a  serial  number  and  another  card  bearing  the 
same  number  is  sent  to  the  department  apparently  responsible, 
with  a  request  for  an  explanation.  When  the  report  is  returned, 
the  key  numbers  are  copied  on  three  tabulation  cards  (Forms 
XX-XXIII),  one  classified  by  type  of  error,  one  by  departments 
at  fault  and  the  third  by  individuals.  The  plan  was  first  tried  in 
the  office,  then  extended  to  include  records  of  material  spoiled 
and  costly  mistakes  made  in  the  shop.  As  important  errors  are 
not  frequent,  the  system  is  not  expensive  to  maintain. 

HOW  A  MACHINE  SHOP  AND  AN  IMPLEMENT  PLANT  KEEP 
EXACT  RECORDS  OF  WORKMEN'S  PRODUCTIVENESS 

nnHE  recognized  method  of  'securing  regular  reports  on  the 
efficiency  of  workmen  is  to  standardize  the  time  or  cost  of 
a  definite  operation  or  machine  part  and  to  compare  therewith 
the  actual  time  or  cost  per  operation  or  per  piece  shown  by  the 
workmen's  time  tickets. 

In  the  Gisholt  plant,  each  operation  is  numbered  and  assigned 
an  estimated  time.  Someone  then  times  the  workman  repeat- 
edly and  reports  the  number  of  pieces  finished  and  the  actual 
time  for  each  (Forms  XXIV-XXV).  If  the  time  is  slow,  the 
checker  notes  a  criticism,  as:  "operation  slow/1  "foreman's  in- 
attention, "  "improper  tools. " 

A  system  which  keeps  a  running  record  of  every  workman's 
production  is  that  in  use  by  the  Hart-Parr  Company.  From  the 
time  records,  a  labor  record  sheet  (Form  XXVI)  is  posted  for 
each  workman.  In  the  instance  shown,  the  workman  started  at 
twenty-four  cents  and  fell  below  his  standard  for  seven  weekg. 
He  then  struck  his  gait  and  earned  increases  from  twenty-four 
to  twenty-six  cents  and  then  finally  twenty-seven  cents  per  hour. 


62 BUILDING  UP  THE  FORCE 

At  the  last  rate  his  total  net  gain  gradually  fell  off  until  he 
was  running  very  close  to  standard.  This  condition  indicates 
that  his  pay  is  right  and  that  he^  must  increase  his  efficiency 
before  he  secures  another  advance. 

In  another  plant,  similar  results  are  posted  on  an  individual 
efficiency  card  (Form  XXVII)  5x8  inches  in  size.  This  card 
gives  space  for  eighteen  months7  record  by  weeks.  By  adding 
the  hours  multiplied  by  per  cent  figures,  a  "batting  average "  is 
obtained  which  takes  account  of  staying  power  and  attendance. 
From  this  card  the  per  cent  efficiency  is  periodically  carried  to 
a  rite-adjustment  record  which  enables  the  superintendent  to 
match  pay  closely  to  individual  efficiency. 


Part  II 

TEACHING  MEN  TO  DO 
BETTER  WORK 


AUTHORITIES  AND  SOURCES 
FOR  PART  II 


Chapter  VI.  Melville  W.  Mix,  President,  Dodge  Manu- 
facturing Company,  contributes  this  chapter. 

Chapter  VII.  By  Mr.  Porter;  based  upon  his  own  experi- 
ence and  that  of  several  other  engineers  and  plants. 

Chapter  VIII.  Edward  Meyers  of  the  Cutler-Hammer 
Company  here  presents  the  results  of  his  personal  experience 
in  the  hiring,  handling  and  training  of  boys. 

Chapter  IX.  This  chapter  gives  in  the  main  the  advanced 
methods  used  for  training  women  operatives  at  the  Joseph  & 
Feiss  plant.  Contributed  by  Mr.  Porter  after  a  personal 
investigation. 

Chapter  X.  A  collaboration  by  H.  M.  Wilcox,  formerly  of 
Miller,  Franklin  &  Company,  W.  S.  Ball  and  the  staff  editors, 
presenting  methods  of  motion  study  among  textile  and  garment 
factories,  machine  shops,  etc. 


THE  WAY  TO  WORK 
WITH  MEN 


SELECTING  men — training  men — furnishing  them  the 
incentive  of  pay  elastic  to  effort — are  important  elements 
but  not  the  whole  of  man-handling.  There  are  further 
traits  of  human  nature  that  every  manager  or  foreman  must 
consider  if  he  is  to  increase  output  and  reduce  cost. 

Ole  Olson  had  worked  hard  and  efficiently  all  winter  in  the 
lumber  camps  of  Minnesota.  He  had  saved  up  two  hundred 
dollars,  and  went  to  Duluth  to  enjoy  it.  It  didn't  make  any 
difference  to  Ole  how  much  of  it  was  premium  money,  earned 
by  being  more  skilful  or  by  exceeding  the  camp  standard  in 
certain  operations.  His  real  reward  was  to  be  a  good  time  in 
Duluth;  for  hadn't  he  worked  hard,  and  wasn't  he  entitled  to 
a  little  pleasure? 

Within  a  week,  thanks  to  kind  friends  (?)  of  both  sexes,  Ole 
was  * ( broke ' ' ;  whereupon  he  stretched  himself  and  soliloquized : 
' '  Oh,  well ;  come  easy,  go  easy.  I  tank  I  go  back  to  work  again. ' ' 

Ole's  state  of  mind  was  fairly  indicative  of  that  of  a  goodly 
percentage  of  men  who  work  under  a  hard,  monotonous  drive; 
wonderfully  efficient  at  work,  and  equally  so  at  spending  the 
proceeds  thereof,  seeking  a  relaxation  that  is  absent  from  their 
occupation,  and  for  which  their  very  souls  hunger.  Disgracefully 
wasteful,  surely,  but  we  must  understand  the  mental  condition 
that  originates  in  the  monotony  of  certain  kinds  of  work.  It  is 
not  a  question  of  maximum  man-power — some  attention  must 
be  paid  to  the  spiritual  reward ;  and  in  so  far  as  that  hunger  may 
be  partly  satisfied  during  one 's  occupation,  the  excessive  waste  of 
reaction  may  be  reduced  by  indulging  certain  relaxation  in  all 


TEACHING   THE   WORKER 


operations  instead  of  denying  all  current  mental  rewards  or  desire 
for  them  during  occupation. 

Insufficient  attention  is  being  paid  to  the  human  side  in  this 
mad  rush  for  the  so-called  efficiency.  Man  shall  no  longer  be 
regarded  as  a  machine.  There  are  too  many  opportunities  open 
to  the  red-blooded  man  of  this  day  to  necessitate  his  accepting 
employment  which  is  open  to  him  only  on  that  basis.  We  all 
know  of  many  instances  where  men  are  continuing  in  positions 
for  less  money  than  they  are  offered,  or  than  may  be  obtained 
elsewhere,  because  of  the  satisfactory  conditions  and  considera- 
tion they  enjoy,  which  is  sufficient  to  prove  that  money  is  not 
necessarily  a  competitor  with  occupational  good  will. 

Much  antagonism  has  been  created  against  efficiency  because 
of  the  false  interpretation  which  has  been  placed  upon  the  plan 
by  many  who  have  only  seen  the  hard,  driving  side  of  the  ques- 
tion. Men  are  likely  to  get  the  idea  that  they  are  being  *  'speeded 
up"  only  to  enhance  the  profit  of  the  employer,  and  thus  may 
be  aroused  within  them  the  spirit  of  resentment  which  can  but 
defeat  the  very  purpose  of  the  science. 

Efficiency,  in  fact,  is  "speeding  down"  but  making  the 
motions  count  for  something.  It  should  save  labor  and  physical 
as  well  as  mental  strain.  Fewer  motions  and  more  results  is 
the  keynote.  Sometimes  it  is  the  person,  sometimes  the  machine 
or  the  operation  that  is  changed. 

The  mind  must  be  cultivated  in  advance  of  the  body,  and 
ample  opportunity  must  be  given  for  a  full  understanding  of 
the  meaning  and  advantage  of  operative  standards  and  rewards 
to  the  end  that  all  workers,  from  top  to  bottom,  will  feel  the 
same  moral  responsibility  to  meet  standard  conditions  in  occu- 
pations that  a  merchant  should  feel  in  giving  sixteen  ounces  to 
the  pound  or  thirty-six  inches  to  the  yard. 

Operative  standards  are  not  established  in  a  day;  they  have 
to  deal  with  every  controllable  act  of  our  lives,  whether  it  be 
for  hire  or  for  our  own  service,  and  necessarily  run  afoul  of  our 
habits  and  whims,  as  well  as  of  the  unwritten  laws  of  many 
crafts. 

No  efficiency  work  was  ever  successful  that  did  not  earn  for 
itself  the  approval  and  satisfaction  of  the  worker;  or  in  other 
words,  his  spiritual  cooperation.  We  don't  work  well  under 


MANAGER   AND    MAN 67 

any  system  if  we  have  the  strain  of  machine  methods  in  our 
minds;  yet  in  our  very  capacities  as  executives  we  may  be 
endeavoring  to  press  that  yoke  on  those  under  our  supervision, 
without  a  thought  that  the  same  sentiments  and  feelings  which 
control  our  disposition  to  work  also  exist  in  the  minds  of  those 
associated  with  us. 

If  you  have  worked  for  a  man  or  firm  that  did  not  give  you 
the  cheer  and  comfort  of  a  certain  comradeship,  the  chances  are 
you  quit  the  job  and  found  a  more  congenial  atmosphere;  and 
under  that  influence  the  best  which  was  in  you  came  out,  and  you 
"  delivered  the  goods "  that  you  could  have  delivered  to  your 
former  employer  if  he  had  known  how  to  encourage  you. 

All  effort,  to  be  effective  and  gratifying,  must  be  collaborative. 
One  need  not  be  sentimental  in  this  matter.  We  often  find 
men  who  are  apparently  successful,  who  say  there  is  no  senti- 
ment in  business,  yet  there  is  no  greater  asset  to  any  business 
than  occupational  good  will.  It  is  never  seen  in  a  financial 
statement  and  would  probably  be  blue-penciled  if  it  were  stated 
and  appraised,  because  of  its  intangibility.  Nevertheless,  it  is 
one  of  the  most  important  factors  in  developing  a  successful 
business. 

The  ancient  and  honorable  game  of  golf  is  probably  the  origi- 
nal " efficiency"  game;  and  whether  you  are  a  scratch  man  or 
one  of  those  G.  A.  R.  players  who  go  out  in  sixty-one  and  back 
in  sixty-five,  you  get  an  equal  amount  of  pleasure  out  of  the 
game,  and  that  is  because  of  the  "standard"  score,  which  is 
established  for  every  course  regardless  of  dissimilarity.  Our 
handicaps  may  be  expressed  in  percentages  of  efficiency,  just  as 
well  as  in  the  way  they  are  expressed — the  meaning  is  the 
same. 


VII 

». 

SHOWING  UNSKILLED 
LABOR  HOW 


CHEAP  labor,  like  cheap  material,  is  often  the  most  expen- 
sive in  the  end.  "The  $7.00-a-week  roustabout, "  said  a 
factory  manager  sagely,  "is  the  highest  priced  man  in 
the  shop." 

When  asked  to  explain  this  paradox,  he  went  on:  "Because 
he  is  the  least  controllable  unit  in  the  organization.  He  does 
as  little  as  he  can,  and  that  in  the  most  awkward  manner.  To 
get  results  with  him  requires  an  amount  of  supervision  entirely 
out  of  proportion  to  the  value  of  his  labor.  Considering  his 
relative  ineffectiveness,  the  high  cost  of  supervision  and  the 
other  overhead  expense  incidental  to  his  work,  you  will  find  that 
he  is  costing  you  actually  more  in  dollars  and  cents  than  a 
nominally  higher  priced  man." 

Even  at  its  normal  wage,  however,  higher  grade  labor  will 
not  condescend  to  compete  at  the  heavy  manual  tasks  which 
the  unskilled  man  performs.  The  wage  level  for  the  man  of 
muscle  is,  therefore,  the  lowest.  From  his  point  of  view,  as  well 
as  that  of  his  employer,  a  paradox  obtains,  in  that  "the  hardest 
labor  brings  the  smallest  return."  Somehow,  for  the  good  of 
both  sides,  these  paradoxes  must  be  modified,  if  not  reversed. 
From  the  standpoint  of  the  man,  less  hard  work  must  bring  more 
adequate  returns  if  he  is  to  be  loyal  and  advance.  From  the 
management's  viewpoint,  the  high  cost  of  cheap  labor  must 
come  down. 

Offhand,  a  seemingly  impossible  problem  has  been  stated.  The 
solution  is  simple,  however.  Cheap  labor,  unlike  cheap  mate- 
rial, is  not  as  a  rule  fixed  in  quality — its  low  value  is  due  rather 


UNSKILLED  LABOR 69 

to  its  undevelopment.  For  the  progressive  employer,  it  is  raw 
material;  while  some  laborers  are  incapable  of  making  any 
advance,  the  majority  both  are  anxious  and  have  capacity  to 
improve,  and  a  few  have  brilliant  executive  possibilities.  The 
advancement  of  unskilled  labor  to  the  point  where  it  earns  more 
and  costs  less  is  a  matter  of  training.  Experience  has  shown 
that  there  is  a  right  way  of  doing  all  things — a  right  way  of 
shoveling,  a  right  way  of  carrying  pig-iron,  a  right  way  of 
pushing  a  broom.  When  this  right  way  is  found  and  put  into 
practice,  the  result  is  an  enormous  increase  in  accomplishment 
with  actually  less  expenditure  of  energy  than  under  the  old  hap- 
hazard, do-as-you-please  way.  The  management  then  can  pay 
more  because  the  men  do  more,  and  they  can  do  more  because 
they  waste  less. 

Moreover,  with  each  degree's  increase  in  effectiveness,  there  is 
an  added  pleasure  in  the  mere  doing.  This  is  greatest  when 
steady  activity,  except  for  proper  intervals  of  rest,  is  main- 
tained in  the  correct  form  for  a  reasonable  number  of  hours 
daily,  and  in  return  a  compensation  is  given  which  stimulates 
the  right  intensity  of  interest.  With  efficiency  thus  comes  hap- 
piness; and  the  happy  worker  who  is  expert,  even  though  at  a 
simple,  primitive  task,  cannot  help  being  a  valuable  asset  to  any 
organization.  More  than  this,  he  has  been  primed  for  further 
progress  of  perhaps  unexpected  importance. 

METHODS  FOR  TEACHING  UNSKILLED  LABOR 
HOW  TO  IMPROVE  WORK 

TN  order  to  show  common  or  unskilled  labor  how  to  do  better 
work,  these  steps  are  necessary :  first,  the  best  way  of  doing  a 
given  operation  must  be  ascertained;  second,  the  proper  fre- 
quency and  length  of  rest  periods  must  be  established;  third, 
the  total  hours  of  work  must  be  adjusted  so  that  complete  recu- 
peration ensues  over  night;  fourth,  definite  tasks  must  be  set 
which  have  a  distinct  relation  to  the  compensation  given;  and 
fifth,  the  wage  for  satisfactory  performance  must  be  sufficiently 
in  advance  of  the  amount  ordinarily  paid  to  enlist  the  complete 
cooperation  of  the  workers  (Figure  VIII). 
The  tasks  set  should  be  proper  for  a  reasonably  good  man. 


70 


TEACHING   THE   WORKER 


Then  those  who  are  of  the  proper  calibre  for  this  kind  of  work 
will  quickly  make  good,  and  those  who  are  not  fitted  for  it  will 
speedily  demonstrate  the  fact.  The  latter  should  be  sorted  out 
as  soon  as  their  inaptitude  is  fully  apparent,  and  more  suitable 
work  found  for  them.  To  allow  them  to  stay  on  manifestly 
would  be  wrong;  for  in  the  end  many  would  drop  out  discour- 
aged, and  in  the  meantime  the  attainment  of  the  standard  by 
those  capable  of  it  would  be  imperiled.  Men  of  fairly  even 
capacity  in  the  same  line  must  be  brought  together  if  they  are 
effectively  to  pace  one  another.  In  athletics  a  good  miler  would 
be  a  poor  person  to  select  to  push  a  dash-man  to  his  best  per- 
formance, and  conversely.  The  same  is  true  in  the  shop. 


Developing 
Unskilled  Workers 


Find  the  Best  Way 


Apply  the  Method 


Best  Tool 

Correct  Action 

Rest  Often  and  long  Enough 

Fix  on  Proper  Daily  Production 

Proper  Hours  of  Work 

Assort  the  Workers 
Encourage  Individual  or  Gang  Rivalry 
Measure  and  Announce  Output 
Let  Workers  Verify  Measure 
Adjust  Pay  to  Production 


FIGURE  VIII:     These  ten  vital  points  in  the  development  of  greater  output  by  unskilled  worken 
represent  the  methods  used  by  a  foreman  who  increased  the  output  per  dollar  450  per  cent 

This  applies  to  gang  labor.  And  men  naturally  are  stimulated 
to  do  their  best  when  pitted  against  one  another  in  putting 
forth  exactly  the  same  character  of  effort.  When  working  indi- 
vidually, with  the  element  of  competition  lacking,  the  standards 
of  performance  evidently  cannot  be  set  so  high.  But  even  then 
a  man  may  be  induced  to  compete  against  himself  and  thus  in 
time  be  urged  to  a  comparatively  high  standard.  In  all  cases 
when  it  is  practicable,  however,  the  work  of  men  in  gangs  should 
be  individualized.  That  is  to  say,  each  man  should  clearly  see 
his  task,  and  his  earnings  in  no  way  should  be  dependent  upon 
the  efforts  of  any  other  man.  Experience  shows  that  whenever 
a  worker  is  forced  to  divide  his  compensation  with  one  or  more 
fellows,  unless  they  are  precisely  even  in  capacity,  the  output 
falls  and  dissatisfaction  permeates  the  group. 

The  first  big  problem  is  to  determine  the  one  best  way.    This 


UNSKILLED   LABOR 71 

may  be  established  by  observation  and  study  or  by  experiment. 
Usually  some  one  workman  will  be  found  who  has  the  native 
bent  for  doing  things  right.  The  smoothness  and  ease  with 
which  he  works  will  be  the  indicator,  and  his  output  as  compared 
to  the  rest  the  proof.  If  his  motions  do  not  seem  to  be  fully 
efficient,  a  little  coaching  will  make  them  so. 

The  observer  may  be  his  own  subject.  One  of  the  most  suc- 
cessful instructors  of  men  at  ordinary  labor  was  a  young  college 
engineer  who  was  as  proficient  with  his  muscle  as  with  his  brain. 
This  man  solved  the  quickest  way  of  doing  a  number  of  different 
kinds  of  manual  work  by  actually  doing  them  himself.  Having 
found  the  best  way  he  would  then  teach  it  to  his  men.  And 
because  he  spoke  from  practical  experience  his  efforts  were 
attended  by  extraordinary  results.  If  the  work  requires  the  use 
of  a  mechanical  aid — a  pick,  a  shovel,  a  crowbar,  or  an  axe — the 
ascertaining  of  the  best  way  includes  also  the  determining  of  the 
proper  tool. 

INCREASING  OUTPUT  BY  STANDARDIZING 
INTERVALS  FOR  REST 

\\7  HEN  the  correct  way  has  been  established,  the  next  step 
is  to  standardize  the  rest  periods.  Workmen,  if  left  to 
their  own  devices,  will  take  either  too  long  or  too  short  rests, 
depending  on  the  incentive  they  have  to  endeavor.  If  the  incen- 
tive is  sharp,  and  there  are  no  retarding  influences,  the  tendency 
is  to  work  too  hard;  on  the  other  hand,  if  incentive  is  totally 
lacking,  the  tendency  is  to  slow  down  to  the  point  where  fatigue 
actually  is  induced  by  the  mere  effort  of  holding  back.  That 
this  is  the  result  almost  everyone  can  verify  by  analyzing  his 
experience  as  a  walker.  There  is  always  a  gait  best  suited  to 
a  particular  man,  which  he  naturally  assumes  when  he  is  his 
normal  self  and  is  walking  with  an  object.  This  he  can  main- 
tain indefinitely  almost  without  weariness.  Only  occasionally 
does  he  feel  the  need  of  pausing  for  a  few  moments,  to  refresh 
himself.  Quicken  the  gait,  however  slightly,  and  he  soon  begins 
to  puff  and  blow  and  tire ;  slacken  it,  and  he  presently  begins  to 
show  exhaustion  from  sheer  inertia.  So  it  is  with  every  kind 
of  muscular  activity. 


72 TEACHING  THE   WORKER 

By  experimenting,  the  proper  frequency  and  length  of  rest 
periods  for  any  kind  of  work  readily  can  be  ascertained.  For 
instance,  in  the  case  of  shovelers  it  has  been  found  that  best 
results  come  when  the  men  are  aHbwed  or  compelled  to  rest  one 
minute  every  twelfth  shovelful  thrown.  This  is  between  five 
and  ten  per  cent  of  the  time.  But  in  cases  it  may  be  necessary 
to  allow  as  much  as  fifty  per  cent  for  resting,  depending  on  the 
muscular  effort  required  to  go  through  one  cycle  of  operations. 
An  allowance  of  five  to  ten  per  cent  also  is  necessary  for  unavoid- 
able delays.  As  regards  the  intervals  for  rest,  the  men  should 
be  carefully  advised  and  watched  until  the  new  habit  of  work 
is  thoroughly  fixed. 

It  is  now  possible  to  determine  standards  of  performance  that 
are  practicable.  Stop-watch  observation  is  the  basis.  The  work 
should  be  split  into  its  elements,  each  timed  separately  and  all 
timed  together.  In  this  way  the  points  of  loss  will  be  disclosed 
and  steps  can  be  taken  to  eliminate  those  that  obviously  are 
pure  waste.  Eventually  the  quickest  time  will  be  apparent  and 
this,  corrected  by  the  proper  allowance  for  rest  and  for  unavoid- 
able delays,  constitutes  the  standard.  From  this  the  proper  out- 
put for  a  given  period  readily  follows.  In  the  course  of  these 
determinations  the  best  length  of  working  day  also  will  be  dis- 
closed. If  the  hours  are  too  long  it  will  be  shown  by  slowing 
down  toward  the  end  of  day  and  by  a  lack  of  spontaneity  on 
starting  in  the  morning. 

Finally,  it  remains  to  fix  the  compensation  so  that  a  good 
man  will  exert  his  best  to  achieve  the  standard.  The  pre- 
cise per  cent  of  advance  over  the  current  wage  for  this  kind  of 
labor  is  a  matter  for  separate  determination  in  each  instance. 
So  small  an  increase  as  ten  per  cent  may  produce  the  desired 
result;  but  experience  shows  that  the  proper  stimulus  is  not 
supplied  until  the  advance  is  at  least  twenty-five  to  thirty 
per  cent,  and  in  cases  fifty  to  one  hundred  per  cent  increase  may 
be  required  before  satisfactory  results  appear. 

The  form  of  compensation  is  immaterial,  so  long  as  there  is 
preserved  a  definite  relation  between  output  and  wages.  Day 
work  frequently  will  answer  every  requirement  if  the  hourly 
rates  are  contingent  strictly  on  the  standard  of  output  being 
maintained.  Piecework  with  the  same  stipulation  also  is  satis- 


The  cut-and-try  method  in  shop  work  is  being  displaced  by  the  study-and-standardize  plan.    To  set 

a  cutting  tool  by  guess  required  the  above  actions,  and  caused  the  workman  to  stoop  and  lift  his  own 

weight  three  times.     When  the  adjustment  was  standardized,  five  simple,  easy  motions  sufficed. 

Study  of  many  operations  has  resulted  in  similar  improvements 


With  the  entrance  of  women  into  industry,  the  conditions  of  work  have  improved.     At  the  National 

Cash  Register  plant  at  Dayton  (below),  equipment  for  women   contributes  towards    comfort  and 

efficiency.      Teaching  work  and  English  is  combined   into  one  attention-holding  operation  in  the 

Joseph  &  Feiss  plant  (above) 


UNSKILLED  LABOR  75 

factory,  and  if  there  is  a  tendency  to  lapse  from  the  standard 
usually  the  discharging  occasionally  of  a  man  for  failing  to 
make  high  pay  is  sufficient  to  keep  the  gang  keyed  up ;  or  it  may 
be  counteracted  by  a  scheme  of  premium  awards  in  addition, 
based  on  a  comparison  of  the  actual  with  the  possible  earnings. 
Day  work  with  an  arbitrary  increase  of  twenty-five  or  fifty  per 
cent  when  the  standard  is  reached  is  still  another  arrangement 
which  has  yielded  excellent  results.  This  is  the  plan  devised  by 
H.  L.  Gantt  and  called  by  him  "task-with-a-bonus"  (Figure  XII 
on  page  119). 

HOW  TO  KEEP  UNSKILLED  LABOR  SATISFIED 
WITH  WORK  AND  PAY 

AN  important  point  in  this  connection  is  to  keep  the  men 
advised  of  their  showing  as  often  as  possible.  Before  begin- 
ning another  day's  work,  at  least,  they  should  be  informed  as  to 
their  output  and  earnings  the  previous  day.  Unskilled  labor  is 
like  the  small  boy  who  runs  an  errand  or  performs  a  chore.  He 
expects  his  five  or  ten  cents  honorarium,  and  whatever  praise  or 
censure  goes  with  it,  just  as  soon  as  the  task  is  done.  If  these 
are  deferred  he  loses  interest  and  the  next  time  is  reluctant  in 
his  response. 

It  is  furthermore  essential  that  the  system  of  measuring  out- 
put carry  with  it  ample  assurance  of  accuracy  and  fairness.  It 
must  be  one  easily  understood  by  a  laborer  of  average  intelli- 
gence and  whenever  possible  it  should  permit  of  his  verifying 
the  figures.  These  conditions  are  not  easy  to  fulfil.  For  com- 
mon labor,  in  addition  to  being  unskilled,  to  a  large  extent  is 
foreign-born  and  non-English  speaking,  and  usually  illiterate 
even  in  its  native  tongue.  Hence  the  ordinary  means  of  convey- 
ing intelligence  are  unsuited.  In  one  instance  a  color  scheme 
served  the  purpose.  Each  man  on  coming  in  found  in  his  box 
a  slip  of  paper:  a  yellow  slip  indicated  attainment  of  the 
standard;  a  white  one  failure.  In  addition  the  actual  figures 
were  given  so  that  those  who  were  able  to  grasp  these  could  note 
their  exact  performance  and  earnings  while  the  details  were  still 
fresh  in  their  minds. 

In  this  connection  the  value  is  seen  of  teaching  English  to 


76 TEACHING   THE   WORKER 

foreign-speaking  labor.  As  they  learn  the  language  they  are 
more  easily  dealt  with,  and  when  they  have  progressed  to  the 
point  where  they  can  read  and  writ%as  well  and  are  able  to  make 
out  simple  reports  they  are  likely  to  be  ready  for  a  higher  grade 
of  work. 

On  change  of  address  notices  placarded  by  the  Ford  Motor 
Company  in  eight  languages,  this  final  slogan  is  maintained  in 
its  eight  versions  as  a  spur  to  the  intelligence  of  the  workmen : 
Learn  to  read  and  write  English. 


VIII 

TEACHING  BOYS  TO  BE  ABLE 
WORKMEN 


WELL,  my  boy,  what  brought  you  up  here*" 
"My  feet." 
"Then  let  them  take  you  down  again  in  a  hurry." 

That's  a  typical  instance  of  freshness  in  the  average  irrespon- 
sible boy.  When  you  ask  him  a  civil  question  he  is  ready  with 
Borne  sharp  retort. 

Boys  are  naturally  independent.  There  is  usually  no  absolute 
necessity  for  their  working  and  they  feel  that  they  can  go  from 
one  place  to  another  or  take  a  vacation  whenever  they  like.  The 
installation  of  automatic  machines  in  so  many  factories  makes 
it  easy  for  the  lad  to  get  a  job.  High-priced  men  can  be  let  go 
when  a  boy  is  hired  as  tender  for  the  automatic  machinery. 

But  boys  are  the  men  of  tomorrow.  It  pays  to  study  them. 
It  takes  years  of  experience  to  develop  the  right  judgment  in 
dealing  with  boys.  Since  no  two  are  alike,  each  must  be  analyzed 
separately.  Of  course  I  look  for  general  characteristics  in  the 
beginning.  Most  of  them  may  be  classed  as  energetic  or  lazy, 
truthful  or  dishonest,  dextrous  or  awkward,  shy  or  fresh.  How- 
ever, there  are  a  great  many  more  who  have  been  allowed  to 
form  lax  habits,  but  who  may  be  entirely  changed  by  careful 
training.  The  slow,  lazy  appearing  lad  may  only  have  been 
assigned  some  disagreeable  task  in  which  he  could  take  no  inter- 
est. Dishonesty  of  others  is  often  to  blame  for  a  boy's  false 
statements.  Working  in  an  uncomfortable  position  puts  another 
at  a  disadvantage  and  makes  him  appear  awkward. 

I  am  always  in  need  of  good  employees  and  never  lose  the 
opportunity  to  hire  the  ones  who  look  promising.  A  sign  is 


78 TEACHING  THE   WORKER 

always  kept  hanging  at  the  entrance,  so  that  anyone  earnestly 
searching  for  work  may  not  pass  by.  When  the  young  fellow 
enters  the  doorway  I  mentally  take,  his  measure.  By  the  time 
he  gets  over  to  the  desk  I  have  formed  an  opinion  of  him.  The 
way  he  walks,  carries  his  hands  and  looks  around  all  give  clews 
to  some  characteristic ;  the  little  things  he  does  unconsciously 
best  portray  his  hidden  traits.  As  he  steps  to  the  desk  I  begin 
a  rapid  cross-examination  that  gives  him  no  opportunity  to  delib- 
erate over  answers.  I  ask  where  he  worked  before,  how  long, 
how  much  pay  he  received,  why  he  quit,  and  so  on. 

A  boy  who  had  been  working  in  a  shipping  room  for  five 
dollars  a  week  came  into  the  office  one  day.  It  took  him  fully  five 
minutes  to  walk  across  the  floor.  When  I  spoke  about  piece- 
work, he  said  he  would  try  it.  I  told  him  we  didn't  do  things 
on  trial ;  if  he  began,  it  would  be  with  the  understanding  that 
he  would  continue  indefinitely.  As  soon  as  he  finds  that  he  has 
to  speed  up  on  a  machine  in  order  to  make  the  money,  he  will 
get  tired  of  the  job. 

If  a  boy  isn  't  square  he  can  do  more  harm  than  his  wages  are 
worth  a  dozen  times  over.  Not  long  ago  I  discharged  a  lad  who 
has  been  working  on  induction  coils.  He  turned  out  an  enor- 
mous amount  of  work,  but  when  some  one  tested  out  one  spool 
it  was  found  that  he  had  paid  no  attention  to  instructions.  On 
most  of  the  coils  one  end  had  been  lost  inside  and  it  was  neces- 
sary to  tear  them  all  apart  in  order  to  get  both  ends  of  the  wire 
clear. 

Laziness  is  easier  to  analyze  than  honesty.  One  of  the  appli- 
cants at  our  office  had  been  making  eighty  cents  a  day  at  piece- 
work, turning  seams  in  a  tinshop.  After  quitting  he  loafed  for 
two  weeks.  His  very  appearance  indicated  laziness  and  lack  of 
skill.  His  hands  were  stuck  deep  in  his  pockets  and  even  his 
clothes  hung  in  a  devil-may-care  fashion.  If  he  had  been  given 
work,  next  day  he  would  have  wanted  to  go  back  to  the  other 
place  to  draw  back  pay  or  leave  with  some  trivial  excuse  and 
then  he  wouldn't  have  shown  up  again. 

Inquisitiveness  is  another  bad  fault.  While  I  was  talking 
to  a  workman  one  day  a  nearby  boy  kept  working  at  my 
e"nd  of  the  bench.  He  was  too  inquisitive,  too  anxious  to  over- 
hear something.  I  never  let  a  boy  get  into  the  Habit  of  looking 


APPRENTICE   WORK 79 

up  this  way.  When  you  catch  a  fellow's  eye  more  than  once 
turned  toward  your  desk,  call  him  over  and  ask  him  what  he 
wants.  Give  him  to  understand  that  his  work  doesn't  depend 
on  you.  He  can  begin  and  work  just  as  regularly  each  day,  no 
matter  what  time  you  may  get  to  the  desk. 

FINDING  THE  BOY'S  POINT  OF  VIEW 
AS  A  MEANS  OF  CONTROL 

"IK/HEN  you  have  hired  a  boy  you  have  just  begun.  He  must 
be  put  where  he  can  work  most  efficiently  and  he  must  be 
trained  very  carefully  in  the  beginning.  It  is  when  you  begin 
directing  their  efforts  that  you  appreciate  the  distinction  between 
the  quick,  apt,  bright-eyed  lad,  with  supple  muscles,  and  the 
slow,  dull,  awkward  boy  who  starts  work  with  a  sullen  expres- 
sion and  lack  of  energy. 

It  is  up  to  you  to  keep  them  interested.  You  must  take  the 
boy's  point  of  view,  get  into  his  confidence  and  study  the  situa- 
tion as  he  has  been  forced  to  see  it.  Eliminate  the  factors  which 
he  believes  keep  him  down.  Personal  interest  and  encourage- 
ment often  hold  a  boy  when  everything  else  fails.  If  he  wants 
to  leave  or  some  of  his  friends  have  decided  to  quit,  manage  to 
get  the  facts  and  talk  over  with  all  concerned  their  reasons  for 
leaving,  the  advantages  they  hope  to  get  at  the  next  place,  and 
so  on.  If  the  reason  is  a  petty  grievance,  you  can  find  a  remedy, 
and  if  a  boy  leaves,  and  finds  the  new  place  is  not  what  it  was 
represented  to  him,  he  will  invariably  come  back. 

Boys'  parents  seldom  understand  them.  Especially  is  this 
true  in  money  matters.  It  seems  that  the  average  parent  expects 
the  boy  to  turn  over  all  but  twenty-five  cents  or  so  of  his  money 
each  week.  When  he  gets  a  raise  here,  he  still  gets  twenty-five 
cents  a  week  at  home.  Lots  of  times  lack  of  interest  can  be 
traced  to  this  reason.  Boys  say :  ' '  What 's  the  use  of  killing  my- 
self turning  out  an  extra  thousand  pieces  this  week  when  I 
don't  get  anything  at  home  for  it?" 

This  fact  was  brought  forcibly  to  my  attention  some  time 
ago,  when  a  slot-machine  vender  in  the  city  traced  a  lot  of  wash- 
ers to  one  of  our  departments.  Some  of  the  boys  had  no  spare 
money  left  when  the  parents  had  extracted  the  usual  toll.  They 


80 TEACHING  THE   WORKER 

liked  gum  and  found  they  could  use  metal  slugs  instead  of 
nickels  in  order  to  get  an  occasional  * ' chew. ' '  It  wasn't  so  much 
the  boys'  fault  as  that  of  the  parents. 

Boys  are  always  an  interesting  p-foblem,  but  you  have  to  keep 
after  them  all  the  time.  You  have  to  keep  close  to  the  boy, 
put  yourself  in  his  place  and  reason  out  his  petty  troubles.  See 
that  he  gets  encouragement  when  he  needs  it;  s£e  that  he  gets 
the  right  treatment  from  his  fellows.  Sometimes  one  is  shy,  or 
nervous,  or  quick-tempered;  each  must  be  taken  individually. 
What  you  might  say  to  this  one  would  have  an  entirely  opposite 
effect  on  the  other.  Tact  is  the  word  that  wins. 

WAGE  INCREASES  AND  SHOP  DISCIPLINE 
FOR  APPRENTICES 

"DOYS  can  do  more  work  than  men.  A  good,  healthy  lad  LS 
naturally  enthusiastic.  His  muscles  are  supple,  and  his 
superfluous  energy  is  expended  as  in  recreation  if  he  is  inter- 
ested in  the  work.  If  the  work  is  sufficiently  varied  and  not 
too  hard  he  is  developing  in  just  the  right  way.  The  boy  takes 
pride  in  the  proper  development  of  skill  and  muscle,  because  he 
realizes  his  capacity  for  such  development.  The  man  who  has 
reached  middle  age  and  works  from  necessity  is  an  entirely 
different  proposition;  the  reaction  has  set  in  and  makes  him 
appear  lazy. 

Like  men,  no  two  boys  are  worth  exactly  the  same  pay.  Each 
has  individual  traits  or  knacks  that  put  him  in  a  separate  class, 
so  far  as  his  earning  power  is  concerned.  Some  little  fellow  may 
do  a  great  deal  more  than  an  older  boy  at  the  next  machine. 
His  services  are  worth  more ;  he  is  capable  of  much  greater  skill 
in  his  regular  development.  Try  to  encourage  such  boys. 
Kaise  their  pay  gradually.  Talk  with  each  boy  when  you  give 
him  a  raise.  Never  allow  the  boys  to  talk  over  wages  with  each 
other.  No  one  is  benefited  by  this  exchange  of  confidences. 

When  a  boy  comes  around  and  asks  for  a  raise,  he  will  often 
give  the  excuse:  "Well,  you  gave  John  a  raise. "  I  tell  him 
to  go  back  and  keep  on  working  until  he  can  come  to  me  and  say 
that  he  honestly  believes  he  himself  is  worth  more ;  not  because 
John  has  been  doing  good  work.  Sometimes  a  clever  bluffer 


• APPRENTICE   WORK 81 

comes  around  with  the  latter  excuse,  really  based  on  the  first 
reason.  If  he  has  not  proved  that  he  is  honestly  improving  in 
his  work  he  does  not  get  any  satisfaction. 

Gradual  increases  in  pay,  you  will  find,  keep  boys  contented. 
Two  raises  of  twenty-five  cents  a  week  during  the  first  six  months 
are  a  great  deal  better  than  one  fifty-cent  increase  in  pay.  Have 
a  small  advancement  and  make  it  come  oftener  when  such  encour- 
agement is  needed. 

No  back  talk  can  be  tolerated  where  discipline  is  to  be  main- 
tained among  boys.  The  lad  who  shows  too  much  independence 
in  the  beginning  will  never  get  down  to  real  work  like  the  one 
who  feels  that  he  still  has  much  to  learn. 

The  worst  thing  for  discipline  in  a  shop  is  the  hard-luck  story 
teller.  He  manages  to  make  every  fellow  disgusted  with  work, 
want  more  pay  and  develop  independent  airs.  He  gets  an 
intense  satisfaction  out  of  watching  boys  walk  out.  It  usually 
happens  that  the  trouble-maker  is  a  good  worker  and  one  that  a 
shop  can  ill  afford  to  lose.  But  you  simply  can't  keep  up  an 
organized  force  with  him  around.  He  tries  to  get  the  others 
around  him  to  work  in  cliques,  in  order  to  have  them  waste 
time  and  pollute  their  minds  with  knocks  about  the  plant. 

It  is  a  hard  thing  to  fire  a  young  fellow  under  such  circum- 
stances because  I  like  to  have  every  fellow  who  leaves  bear  no 
ill  will  against  the  company.  Most  of  the  boys  who  quit  on 
some  pretext  or  other  will  come  back  and  want  their  old  jobs 
again.  I  always  pick  out  the  work  they  like  and  this  is  a  big 
factor  in  keeping  the  boy  in  love  with  his  work. 

The  young  man  who  is  my  assistant  foreman  has  been  with 
the  company  fifteen  years.  The  boys  winding  resistances  have 
been  here  eight  to  ten  years.  Of  course,  there  are  transients 
who  never  could  be  satisfied,  but  the  average  boy  appreciates 
personal  interest  and  encouragement,  and  is  willing  to  stick  by 
us  when  we  give  him  a  square  deal.  I  tell  them  as  nearly  as 
possible  what  they  can  do  so  that  no  misunderstandings  will 
arise  later. 

I  make  an  opportunity  for  the  deserving  boy  and  work  with 
him  in  making  the  most  of  his  time  to  develop  his  ability  and 
initiative.  And  these  young  men  who  realize  what  we  have 
done  for  them  are  becoming  the  foundation  of  this  company. 


82 TEACHING  THE   WORKER 

They  are  appreciative  and  continue  to  develop  along  the  line 
marked  for  them  in  the  beginning,  and  when  developed  they 
become  the  most  valuable  of  employees. 

The  training  which  develops  an  employee  into  an  expert  will 
tend  to  restrict  his  efforts  to  the  scope  of  the  job,  branch  of  the 
trade  or  business  in  which  he  works.  He  is  narrowed  both 
mentally  and  physically.  While  it  is)  true  that  habits  of  work 
up  to  a  certain  point  make  one  more  quickly  efficient  in  some 
allied  work  or  trade,  unless  the  chance  is  given  before  the  em- 
ployee 's  mind  and  habits  become  "set,"  he  will  become  highly 
skilled  in  one  thing  and  of  little  efficiency  at  anything  else. 

Training  which  extends  over  different  branches  more  closely 
holds  the  attention,  develops  greater  interest  in  the  work  and  is 
less  tiresome.  It  produces  better  muscles,  more  knowledge, 
sounder  health  and  hands  that  can  turn  to  any  task.  It  fits 
a  man  to  step  into  any  vacancy  in  the  shop  and  make  good, 
perhaps  not  to  the  same  extent  as  the  <7  specialist,"  but  still  to 
do  average  work. 

An  excellent  illustration  of  this  point  is  the  manner  in  which 
foremen  are  made  in  a  certain  large  shop.  If  a  young  man  is 
observed  who  seems  to  have  the  earmarks  of  executive  ability 
he  is  started  at  one  of  the  simplest  tasks  in  the  shop.  He  is 
kept  at  that  particular  task  until  he  knows  all  about  it,  and  is 
then  put  at  the  next  task.  From  job  to  job  he  makes  the  round 
of  the  shop..  Upon  completing  this  course  he  is  started  just 
where  he  first  began  and  kept  on  each  task  until  he  can  do  a 
full  day's  work  at  it.  The  complete  instruction  takes  about 
two  years.  At  the  end  of  that  time  he  is  fitted  to  become  an 
under-foreman.  He  is  an  "all  around"  employee  and  can  fill 
any  average  workman 's  place.  As  a  foreman  he  not  only  knows 
the  work,  but  he  can  do  it,  or  any  part  of  it. 


IX 


TRAINING  WOMEN  OPERATIVES 


SYSTEMATIC  training  of  workers,  with  the  advent  of 
women  into  industry,  received  a  great  impulse  in  the  direc- 
tion of  definite  plans  and  methods.  Of  the  average  man, 
practicability  is  expected,  from  knocking  about  the  home  in  his 
boyhood  days.  Special  training  for  him,  therefore,  upon  enter- 
ing the  fields  of  organized  industry  does  not  even  yet  seem  essen- 
tial. Few  girls,  however,  are  required  to  do  the  work  about  the 
home  which  fits  them  for  factory  tasks.  True,  for  certain  kinds 
of  work  they  naturally  are  better  qualified,  and,  as  a  class,  tend 
to  learn  more  rapidly  than  boys.  Nevertheless,  as  a  new  factory 
hand,  the  average  girl,  until  specially  trained  and  disciplined,  is 
not  worth  a  minimum  hire. 

So  it  is  in  industries  where  large  numbers  of  women  are  occu- 
pied that  methods  of  training  and  developing  employees  are 
found  furthest  advanced.  Initial  hesitation  past,  encouraging 
results  have  followed  and  definite  training  plans  have  developed, 
not  only  for  women,  but  also  for  men. 

At  the  Joseph  &  Feiss  plant  the  management  has  come  to  view 
the  problem  of  training  as  apart  from  any  sex  distinction,  as 
being  rather  an  individual  matter. 

Nevertheless,  most  factory  managers  will  recall  detail  pecu- 
liarities of  the  women  workers'  character,  disregard  of  which 
has  more  than  once  precipitated  trouble  in  the  shop.  Success 
with  women  operatives  depends  on  familiarity  with  these  traits 
and  a  training  policy  built  about  them.  No  doubt,  women  pre- 
sent the  same  basic  human  traits  as  men.  Many  superficial 
points  of  difference,  however,  exist.  Women,  for  example,  seem 


84 TEACHING  THE   WORKER 

more  self-centered  than  men,  and  therefore  have  to  be  treated 
with  greater  tact  and  gentleness.  An  apparent  slight  or  breach 
of  courtesy,  which  a  man  quickly  would  forget,  if  he  noticed,  a 
woman  is  likely  to  cherish  for  days.  To  get  results  calls  for 
care,  and  often  an  indirect  suggestion  brings  results  where  a 
peremptory  order  fails. 

Girls  and  women  also  instinctively  crave  neat  and  attractive 
surroundings.  Good  sanitation,  plenty  of  light  and  air,  pleasing 
decorations,  a  touch  of  the  home  atmosphere  wherever  possible 
— work  wonders  in  retaining  and  inspiring  women  workers. 

The  so-called  superior  intuition  of  the  feminine  also  is  held 
by  some  managers  to  be  a  factor.  Greater  demands  thus  are 
made  upon  the  manager  for  caution  and  astute  dealing,  in  order 
to  avoid  misunderstandings. 

Another  point  in  favor  of  women  is  that,  from  any  given  level 
of  society,  the  women  noticeably  are  easier  to  teach  and  acquire 
a  higher  degree  of  skill  than  their  brothers.  In  a  money  sense 
this  is  of  prime  importance,  and  is  a  leading  reason  why  women 
so  generally  are  preferred  in  classes  of  industries  to  which  the 
work  fits  them.  To  get  the  same  quality  of  service  from  men 
would  necessitate  the  payment  of  higher  wages  than  is  war- 
ranted by  the  profits  of  the  industry. 

AROUSING  AMBITION  AND  LOYALTY  AMONG 
THE  WOMEN  WORKERS 

f~\  N  the  debit  side  of  the  page  are  the  restricted  ambition  and 
lesser  dependability  of  women  as  a  class.  Money  and  the 
rewards  it  will  buy  deeply  attract  women,  however.  Any  plan 
for  developing  feminine  efficiency  therefore  is  well  linked  with 
the  payroll.  Offered  a  direct  incentive,  women  as  a  rule  learn 
easily  and  quickly.  At  the  Joseph  &  Feiss  factory,  as  much  as 
fifty  per  cent  increase  in  efficiency  of  girls  has  resulted  through 
inducing  the  parents  to  allow  their  daughters  to  retain  for  per- 
sonal use  a  certain  margin  of  their  wages,  which  they  save  in 
the  "Clothcraft  Penny  Bank."  Half  the  girls  were  found  to 
be  giving  over  all  their  earnings  to  the  parents.  This  circum- 
stance cuts  off  these  workers  from  all  personal  reward  and  incen- 
tive in  the  carefully  planned  piece  rates  under  which  they 


WOMEN   OPERATIVES 


85 


worked.  The  parents  in  most  cases  readily  sanctioned  the  sav- 
ings account  and  the  girl  at  once  found  a  new  interest  in  her 
work  (Forms  XXVIII  and  XXIX). 


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FORMS  XXVTJI  and  XXIX:  On  the  payroll  ledger  of  the  Joseph  &  Feiss  Company  every  two- 
weeks'  pay  period  is  numbered,  as  9,  10,  11.  Jane  Doer's  earnings  for  March  17  were  $27.91.  The 
earnings  for  each  day  are  carried  into  the  totals  in  the  accumulative  column.  The  number  of  hours 
worked  are  also  noted.  (  The  payroll  allowance  voucher  is  used  to  avoid  a  loss  in  wages  due  to  the 
worker's  inexperience  when  changing  from  an  old  to  a  new  operation 

Girls  who  enter  industry  look  forward  quite  generally  to  mat- 
rimony or  at  least  take  the  traditional  view  that  it  is  impossible 


86 TEACHING  THE   WORKER 

for  women  to  get  far  in  business.  This  feeling  reacts  upon 
their  efficiency,  and  makes  them  largely  indifferent  to  the  appeals 
which  move  men  so  powerfully — promotion  and  permanence  in 
employment. 

The  greater  unreliability  of  woman  labor  which  the  experience 
of  some  manufacturers  indicates  has  not  been  of  moment,  how- 
ever, at  the  Joseph  &  Feiss  plant.  It  is  not  that  the  ratio  of 
marriages  is  lower,  but  that  many  who  marry  continue  to  work 
and  not  infrequently  the  wife  returns  presently  to  seek  her 
former  position,  sometimes  because  the  husband  does  not  earn 
enough  for  two,  more  often  through  her  longing  to  be  back  again 
in  the  familiar  atmosphere  of  the  shop. 

When  a  new  girl  is  needed,  one  or  more  applicants  recom- 
mended by  present  employees  are  notified  to  report  for  a  per- 
sonal interview  with  the  head  of  the  service  department.  This 
department  is  responsible  for  employment  as  well  as  for  the 
instruction  and  discipline,  health  and  comfort  of  the  operatives. 
Questioning  reveals  the  girl's  attitude  towards  work  and  her 
general  fitness  for  the  organization.  The  service  head  explains 
the  requirements  and  conditions  of  engagement  in  detail,  empha- 
sizes the  factors  that  make  for  the  fullest  cooperation  and  best 
results,  and  indicates  the  debilitating  effect  of  dissipation  and  of 
doing  outside  work  besides  that  which  is  naturally  expected  of 
every  girl  who  lives  at  home.  To  be  regular  at  work,  to  dress 
simply  and  to  undergo  medical,  dental  and  ocular  examination  as 
deemed  advisable  are  some  of  the  other  conditions. 

During  the  process  of  introducing  the  worker  to  her  new  con- 
ditions, an  instructor  is  assigned,  whose  business  it  now  is  to 
have  the  green  hand  trained  in  the  correct  method  of  work  and 
impressed  with  the  proper  standards  of  quality.  Instruction  in 
the  operation  itself  is  based  upon  scientific  determination  of  the 
one  best  way  by  motion  and  time  studies  and  by  actual  tryout. 
The  instructor  keeps  close  tab  on  each  case  until  the  new  girl 
unaided  can  earn  the  minimum  wage.  His  reports  meanwhile 
guide  the  service  department  in  interviews  which  develop  the 
employee 's  attitude  toward  her  work.  Fair  dealing  and  encour- 
agement, free  from  any  appearance  of  discrimination,  play  an 
important  part  in  winning  the  worker's  confidence. 

The  payroll  department  also  gages  the  new  operative  by  her 


WOMEN  OPERATIVES 87 

earning  capacity  and  keeps  the  service  department  informed  of 
her  progress.  Periodically,  all  three  departments  report  her 
progress  in  the  various  essentials  to  the  general  manager,  so  that 
he  may  help  to  solve  any  difficult  case. 

HOW  WOMEN  OPERATIVES  DETERMINE  THEIR 
OWN  ADVANCEMENT 

pEACTICALLY  all  work  is  on  a  piece  basis,  but  beginners 
are  guaranteed  a  minimum  wage  for  a  limited  period.  As 
earning  capacity  increases,  the  guarantee  is  first  halved,  then 
quartered  and  finally  withdrawn  altogether.  That  is,  for  a  short 
period  new  operatives  are  paid  on  a  day  basis.  Then,  as  soon 
as  they  are  ready  to  work  on  a  piece  basis,  but  still  unable  to 
attain  the  standard,  they  are  allowed  half,  and  later,  one-fourth 
of  their  day  rate  in  addition  to  their  piece  earnings.  Finally, 
when  the  worker  is  able  to  "go  it"  unaided,  the  guarantee 
ceases.  Earnings  then  depend  solely  on  her  own  initiative,  except 
that  no  operative  ever  can  earn  less  than  the  minimum  if  she 
falls  below  the  standard  through  a  cause  beyond  her  control. 

The  gentle  though  insistent  stimulus  of  this  scheme  of  pay- 
ment is  apparent.  It  is  nicely  calculated  to  afford  the  maximum 
of  encouragement  without  at  the  same  time  nursing  negative 
qualities.  A  permanent  guarantee  would  tend  to  keep  the 
worker  dependent  upon  it  and  thus  jeopardize  the  attainment  of 
the  highest  efficiency.  A  few  weeks  under  this  instruction  and 
wage  ordinarily  give  the  new  hand  a  high  degree  of  skill.  The 
plan  applies  to  men  as  well  as  to  women. 

Part  of  the  labor  supply  is  foreign  born  or  of  foreign  parent- 
age and  non-English  speaking.  The  speedy  acquirement  of  facil- 
ity in  English  is  made  a  condition  of  acceptance  and  advance- 
ment for  such  employees.  The  service  department  will  furnish 
the  required  instruction  or  it  may  be  obtained  through  one  of 
the  classes  which  are  maintained  at  the  factory  by  the  Cleveland 
Board  of  Education.  Learning  under  this  arrangement  is  rapid, 
and  it  is  not  uncommon  to  see  a  foreign-tongued  girl  trans- 
formed, in  the  space  of  six  months  or  a  year,  into  a  fine  specimen 
of  American  womanhood,  speaking  and  writing  the  English  lan- 
guage with  almost  native  fluency. 


88 TEACHING   THE   WORKER 

To  aid  advancement,  a  learner's  or  apprentice's  course  also  is 
maintained.  Anyone  may  become  a  candidate  for  this  course, 
but  only  those  who  seem  fitted  and  actuated  by  the  proper 
motives  are  accepted.  Upon  starting,  the  student  is  transferred 
to  a  special  department  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  instruction 
department.  He  is  taught  to  perform  all  the  main  operations 
in  the  shop,  so  that  he  fully  understands  the  making  of  a  gar- 
ment. The  workings  of  the  indirect  departments  are  also  made 
plain  to  him. 

Old  hands  who  slump  or  who  wish  a  change  of  work  are  han- 
dled precisely  the  same  as  are  beginners,  except  that  the  follow- 
up  by  the  service  department  is  omitted.  Indeed,  they  are 
encouraged  to  avail  themselves  of  the  help  of  the  instruction 
department  whenever  they  feel  that  they  are  not  doing  them- 
selves full  justice. 

Graduates  of  the  apprenticeship  course  are  eligible  to  the 
higher  positions  in  the  organization.  They  may  apply  for  any 
position  they  feel  qualified  to  fill,  and  so  far  as  practicable  every 
aspirant  for  a  high  station  is  soon  given  a  thorough  tryout.  As 
this  is  the  only  avenue  to  advancement — including  clerical  posi- 
tions in  the  office  and  foremanships — opportunity  is  equal  and 
those  at  the  bottom  have  genuine  incentives  to  work  up. 
Advanced  positions  are  open  equally  to  men  and  women,  and 
both  are  found  filling  important  trusts. 

For  some  positions  women  are  superior  to  men,  and  for  others 
the  reverse  is  true.  For  the  pressing  of  garments,  as  an  instance, 
the  choice  practically  is  limited  to  men.  But  on  light  classes 
of  work,  requiring  manual  skill  and  dexterity,  women  as  a  rule 
are  more  efficient. 

Upon  the  judgment  of  a  manager  in  these  matters  of  aptitude, 
thorough  training  and  logical  placing,  his  initial  success  in 
employing  women  and  girls  is  likely  to  hinge.  In  planning 
incentives  for  his  force,  he  must  again  remember  the  feminine 
viewpoint.  If  he  would  give  his  women  workers  a  greater 
impulse  to  develop  ability,  he  must  make  sure  that  they  profit 
personally  when  their  pay  goes  up,  and  that  some  of  the  higher 
places  in  the  business  are  open  to  competent  women. 


X 


DEVELOPING  SKILL  THROUGH 
MOTION  STUDY 


MOTION  study  is  not  a  cure-all  for  any  sort  of  industrial 
ill.  But  its  proper  and  judicious  use,  coupled  with  care- 
fully planned  training  for  the  individual  workman,  can 
effect  many  and  great  economies  in  almost  any  plant. 

When  any  process  requires  the  repetition  of  the  same  motion 
cycle  over  and  over,  millions  of  times  in  a  year,  a  scientific  and 
exhaustive  study  of  the  unit  motions,  the  sequence  of  motions 
and  the  rearrangement  of  the  work  to  reduce  effort  and  time  to 
a  minimum  will  almost  invariably  effect  large  economies  in 
labor. 

A  knitting  mill  of  moderate  size  will  make,  say,  one  thousand 
dozen  pair  of  hose  per  day,  twenty-four  thousand  pieces  of  work. 
Each  piece  will  require  perhaps  ten  hand  operations.  Each 
operation  may  require,  say,  ten  motions. 

A  bit  of  arithmetic  shows,  then,  that  the  hand  operations  on 
this  volume  of  produced  material  will  require  something  like 
720,000,000  motions  per  year. 

Here,  then,  is  a  fruitful  field  for  the  motion-study  man.  Let 
us  assume,  for  example,  that  by  the  elimination  of  some  motions, 
and  the  reduction  in  time  of  others,  an  average  of  one  one-hun- 
dredth of  a  minute  can  be  saved  on  every  motion.  This  will 
amount  to  7,200,000  operator  minutes,  or  120,000  operator  hours 
in  a  year.  At  ten  cents  per  hour  as  the  rate  of  wages,  this  is 
equivalent  to  $12,000.  As  the  plant  investment  required  for  a 
hosiery  mill  will  approximate  one  hundred  dollars  for  every 
dozen  of  daily  output,  the  saving  in  the  above  instance  will  rep- 
resent twelve  per  cent  on  the  amount  invested  in  plant 


90 


TEACHING   THE   WORKER 


In  these  days  of  narrow  margins  in  the  manufacture  of  staples, 
this  may,  indeed,  represent  the  difference  between  a  loss  and  a 
profit,  between  a  failure  and  a  success. 

On  the  other  hand,  although  it  is  true  that  for  every  opera- 
tion there  may  be  a  certain  arrangement  of  work  and  sequence 
of  motions  by  which  a  job  can  be  executed  with  a  minimum  of 
effort  at  a  maximum  of  speed,  unless  an  operation  is  to  be  re- 
peated in  the  same  manner  many,  many  times,  the  time  and  cost 
necessary  to  determine  this  one  best  method  will  generally  be 
greater  than  the  saving  that  can  be  effected. 

The  difference  between  motion  and  time  study,  and  their  re- 
lation to  each  other  are  important  points  to  define.  The  former 
is  qualitative ;  the  latter  quantitative.  Motion  study  is  a  means 
to  effect  economies ;  time  study  to  measure  them. 

In  approaching  a  new  problem,  the  first  step  is  to  make  a 
time  study  of  the  motions  already  employed  by  the  workman 
or  group  of  workmen  engaged  in  performing  this  task. 


Steps  in  Motion  Study 

1.  Mtte  time  study  of  motions  as  ft  prase* 

2.  From  the  time  study,  ascertain  proportion  of  idle  time 

and  amount  of  productive  to  non-productive  motions 

3.  If  gang  operation,  determine  amount  of  idle  time  of 

each  man  in  each  complete  cycle  of  motions 

4.  Determine  present  motions  that  are  unnecessary 

5.  Study  each  motion  separately  and  its  relations  to  the 

preceding  and  succeeding  motion,  to  determine  the 
easiest  and  quickest  manner  in  which  each  may  be 
performed 

6.  Group  motions  into  unit  operations 

7.  Assemble  unit  operations  In  proper  sequence 

8.  Establish  total  time  for  one  complete  cycle 


Establishing  Piece  Price  from  Time  Study 

1.  Allow  10  per  cent  for  rest  and  personal  needs,  or 

6  min.  per  hour 

2.  Standard  time  per  piece  found  to  be  6  min. 

3.  Then  productive  time  per  hour  equals  54  minutes 

4.  And  number  per  hour  that  should  be  produced 

equals  nine  (9) 

5.  Suppose  hourly  rate  of  workman    27  cents 

6.  Allow  33%  increase  over  present  rate 

7.  Then  workmen  under  piecework  should  earn  36 

cents  per  hour 

8.  Hence,  price  per  piece  will  be  36  divided  by  9  or  4 

cents  each 


FIGURE  IX:  Time  and  motion  studies  have  been  the  source  of  extraordinary  savings  in  costs  and 
in  fatigue.  The  secret  of  a  reform  in  a  wage-payment  system  has  often  proved  to  be  careful  stand 
ardization  of  the  operation,  followed  by  a  stimulating  change  in  the  rate  of  payment.  The  established 
method  in  standard  practice  of  carrying  out  this  reform,  both  as  to  operation  and  wage  systems,  baa 
eight  steps,  as  shown  under  each  heading 

The  time  study  completed,  an  analysis  will  indicate  the 
amount  of  idle  time,  and  the  amounts  of  time  expended  in 
productive  and  non-productive  motions  (Figure  IX). 

By  productive  motions  is  meant  those  employed  in  actually 
performing  some  work  on  the  article  in  process,  and  by  non- 


Natural  aptitude  and  "experience"  are  no  longer  considered  sufficient  to  make  the  average  workman 
expert.  The  group  of  men  in  the  top  picture  are  learning  the  fine  points  of  automobile  construction. 
General  Electric  apprentices  in  pattern-making  are  shown  below.     In  the  middle  picture  an  ad- 
vanced apprentice  is  lining  up  field  with  shaft  in  a  big  dynamo 


Motion  pictures  have  proved  extraordinarily  effective  in  detecting  wasted  motions  for  which  the  eye 
has  never  been  quick  enough.  In  the  motion  studies  at  the  right  and  left  a  clock  dial  marked  off  in 
seconds  is  used  to  record  the  time  each  move  consumed.  The  middle  film  shows  Henry  Ford  start- 
ing one  of  the  gigantic  engines  at  his  new  plant — the  largest  producer-gas  steam  engine  in  the  world 


TIME   AND    MOTION   STUDIES 9S 

productive  motions,  those  necessary  to  put  the  work  in  position, 
prepare  the  tools  and  set  the  work  aside.  In  the  operation  of 
making  the.  final  sizing  cut  on  taps  by  passing  them  through  a 
die  set  in  the  bed  of  a  drill  press,  the  productive  motions  are 
those  required  during  the  cut,  while  the  non-productive  ones 
are  those  required  to  pick  up  the  unfinished  tap  and  place  it  in 
the  chuck,  and  to  pick  up  the  finished  tap,  gage  it  and  put  it 
in  the  box  of  finished  work. 

This  preliminary  analysis  furnishes  us  a  formula  by  which  to 
determine  the  line  of  least  resistance  in  effecting  a  saving.  For 
instance,  if  the  non-productive  time  is  seventy-five  per  cent  and 
the  productive  time  twenty-five  per  cent  of  the  total,  there  is, 
as  a  rule,  a  much  greater  margin  for  possible  economy  than  in 
an  operation  where  the  productive  time  is  seventy-five  per  cent 
and  the  non-productive  twenty-five  per  cent. 

In  the  latter  case  a  study  of  the  machine  is  necessary  to  at- 
tack the  operation  at  the  point  where  there  is  the  greatest  mar- 
gin for  improvement.  But  for  the  scrutiny  of  human  rather 
than  mechanical  motions,  operations  showing  an  excess  of  non- 
productive time  are  especially  inviting. 

In  gang  operations  with  more  than  one  man  running  a  ma- 
chine, the  next  step  is  to  determine  the  amount  of  idle  time  of 
each  workman  in  each  complete  cycle  of  motions.  As  to  labor 
conditions  in  an  entire  plant,  the  data  concerning  the  productive 
and  non-productive  times  furnishes  a  fairly  accurate  index  of 
the  operations  which  will  benefit  most  from  motion  study. 

HOW  TO  SET  TIME  STANDARDS 
FOR  UNIT  MOTIONS 

¥  N  the  detail  procedure  of  making  a  motion  study,  commencing 
with  the  instant  the  workman  starts  to  pick  up  a  new  piece 
of  work,  the  efficiency  engineer  observes  the  successive  motions 
through  the  entire  operation  and  by  eliminating  the  useless,  de- 
termines those  motions  that  are  absolutely  essential  to  accom- 
plish the  desired  result.  Then  it  is  necessary  to  study  each  mo- 
tion as  a  unit  and  as  to  its  relation  to  the  motions  immediately 
preceding  and  following,  to  determine  the  easiest  and  quickest 
way  to  perform  each. 


94 TEACHING  THE   WORKER 

Tke  term  motion  may  perhaps  be  misleading.  It  is  a  mistake, 
as  a  rule,  to  attempt  to  analyze  an  operation  into  single  motions. 
The  aim  is  rather  to  cut  it  up  into  what  might  be  termed  unit 
operations,  as  to : 

(a)  Pick  up  work  and  lift  to  machine. 

(b)  Adjust  work  and  start  machine. 

(c)  Cut. 

(d)  Take  work  out  of  machine. 

(e)  Deposit  in  pile  of  finished  work,  and  return  to  unfin- 

ished work. 

It  will  be  noted  that  each  of  these  is,  in  reality,  an  operation 
and  may  be  made  up  of  several  motions.  However,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  simplicity  in  description  each  of  the  unit  operations  will 
be  referred  to  as  a  motion. 

After  assembling  the  unit  motions  into  their  proper  sequence 
to  perform  the  work  undertaken,  we  determine  the  total  time 
for  one  complete  cycle  by  summing  the  time  of  all  the  units 
The  unit  times  are  determined  by  actual  timings  of  the  unit 
motions  as  made  by  the  workmen  operating  at  a  normal  rate  of 
speed.  By  making  from  five  to  twenty  timings  of  each  unit  motion 
as  executed  by  several  different  workmen,  and  selecting  a  stand- 
ard from  those  timings  which  appear  correct,  it  is  impossible  for 
the  workmen  to  deceive  you  by  loafing  or  "soldiering"  while 
under  observation  and  an  absolutely  fair  total  time  may  be  set 
for  the  complete  cycle. 

In  making  time  studies,  it  is  only  under  exceptional  conditions 
that  observations  can  not  be  taken  with  the  stop-watch  in  full 
view  of  the  workmen.  In  setting  the  standard  times  an  average 
of  all  the  observations  made  should  not  be  taken,  but  widely 
divergent  timings  may  be  discarded  before  the  readings  are 
averaged  (Figure  X). 

Only  recently  in  the  making  of  a  study,  a  workman  under 
observation  required,  0.05,  0.07,  0.12,  0.21,  and  0.25  minutes  to 
lay  down  the  finished  piece  and  pick  up  the  unfinished  piece  five 
different  times.  His  intent  was  obvious.  In  this  case  the  last 
two  timings  were  ignored  and  a  standard  time  for  the  unit  mo- 
tion of  0.08  minutes  established. 

In  dividing  an  operation  into  unit  motions  for  the  purpose 
of  timing,  it  is  important  to  select  some  distinctive  and  easily 


TIME   AND   MOTION  STUDIES 


95 


Old  Arrangement 
Refolded  Unfolded 


B 


HOW  AN 
OPERATION  WAS 
STANDARDIZED 


New  Arrangement 
Unfolded 
Refolded 


Operation:  Refolding  under  vests— an  all-hand  operation. 


Description 


Original  fabric  comes  in  tubular  form  and,  for  the  sake  of  economy,  incision 
for  waist  line  arm  and  arm  pits  is  made  in  center  of  garment.  This  necessi  - 
tates  refolding  each  piece  so  that  the  outline  cuts  of  the  waist  and  arm  pit  are 
brought  to  the  edge  of  the  piece. 


Old  Method 

Two  piles  of  vests  placed  on  bench  side  by 
aide,  the  unfolded  ones  on  the  right,  with 
man  standing  at  foot  of  right  hand  pile 


Sequence  of  Motions 

1.  Reach  forward  with  both  hands  to  cut  end 
of  garment  (known  as  top). 

2.  Insert  thumbs  of  both  hands  between  the 
two  sides  of  cloth  and  two  fingers  of  each 
hand  placed  on  outside  of  garment,  the 
loose  points  at  neck  of  arm  hole  being  grasp 
ed.    This  forms  the  commencement  of  new 
fold. 

3.  Lift  garment  from  bench  bringing  it  down 
in  front  of  operator  and  drawing  the  points 
grasped  away  from  each  other.    This 
straightens  the  old  crease  and  begins  form- 
ing new  one  at  sides. 

4.4  5.    Shake  the  garment  twice  (average),  to 
perpetuate  the  fold  down  the  side. 

6.    Step  to  refolded  pile. 

7  &  ft.  Raise  garment  over  pile  of  unfolded  vests 
and  swing  bottom  in  air  until  it  is. some 
where  near  bottom  of  pile.    Then  lay  gar  - 
ment  down.     Bring. top  as  nearly  as  possible 
in  alignment  with  top  of  garments  already 
folded.    Owing  io  length  of  vest  it  was  im- 
possible to  lay  it  in  alignment  with  folded 
jjile  without  adjustment  . 

»  &  10.     Adjust  the  garment  to  align  with  pile, 
first  at  bottom,  then  at  top. 

11.    Step  back  to  first  position. 


New  Method 

Two  piles  of  vests  directly  in  front  of  man, 
the  unfolded  garments  furthest  away.    The 
tops  and  bottoms  of  the  two  piles  in  line,  the 
tops  to  right  of  man  . 


Sequence  of  Motions 

1      Reach  forward  to  unfolded  pile,  right  hand 

at  top,  left  hand  at  bottom. 
Z.     Simultaneously  insert  middle  finger  of  each 

hand  between  the  cloth  and  press  same  with 

thumb  and  first  finger.    This  starts  new 
crease. 

3.     Draw  garment  forward  and  place  tne  points 
grasped  at  the  corner  of  the  folded  pile 
nearest  the  operator.     The  nap   of  the 
cloth  of  the  garment  being  folded  adheres 
just  sufficiently  to  the  pile  so  that  the  vest 
can  be  peeled  off,  but  not  sufficiently  to  dis- 
turb the  pile  beneath.     The  distance  from 
side  to  side  of  garment  is  so  much  less  than 
the  distance  from  top  to  bottom  that  it  was 
found  the  unfolded  vest  could  be  placed  on 
the  pile  so  accurately  that  further    adjust  - 
ment  was  unnecessary 

Results:    Savings  of  two-thirds  time  in  fold  - 
ing  garments.    Under  old  arrange  - 
ment  two  men  had  been  kept  busy 
refolding  at  a  cost  of  $9.00  per  week 
each.     Under  the  new  arrangement, 
one  man  does  all  refolding  and  has 
some  time  for  additional  work.     In  . 
dicating  saving  per  year— $468 


FIGURE  X:    The  process  of  standardizing  an  all-hand  operation  is  here  recorded.    On  a  one-man 
basis,  the  saving  which   resulted  from  this  analysis  amounted   to  $486  per  year  in  wages  alone. 
The  new  arrangement  reduces  the  number,  length  and  time  of  motions,  greatly  increasing  the  out- 
put of  each  operator 


96 TEACHING  THE   WORKER . 

observed  point  at  which  to  end  one  motion  and  start  the  nest. 
The  time  required  to  pick  up  a  bar  of  iron  for  inserting  in  a 
lathe  would  be  taken  from  the  instant  the  operator's  hand 
touched  the  bar,  until  the  bar  touched  the  chuck;  the  time  ad- 
justing and  starting  until  the  instant  the  machine  started,  and 
so  on. 

In  the  setting  of  rates  from  time  studies,  the  element  of  rest, 
time  for  personal  needs,  and  so  on,  must  be  considered.  The 
method  much  employed  is  to  determine  the  percentage  of  time 
necessary  for  such  purposes  in  each  case  under  observation, 
deduct  this  percentage  from  sixty  minutes,  divide  by  the  stand- 
ard time  and  so  determine  the  number  per  hour  that  should  be 
produced.  Ten  to  twenty-five  per  cent  is  then  added  to  the 
average  hourly  earnings  of  the  workman  operating  under  the 
old  methods,  and  the  price  per  piece  established  by  dividing  the 
standard  number  per  hour  into  this  amount.  As  the  very  basic 
principle  of  scientific  management  is  less  unit  cost  with  oppor- 
tunity for  greater  wage  return,  it  is  imperative  to  set  a  standard 
that  will  enable  the  workman  to  earn  more  by  the  new  method 
than  by  the  old  (Form  XXX). 

Any  benefits  derived  must,  of  course,  be  shared  with  the  work- 
men, as  it  is  only  by  this  means  that  the  new  methods  can  be 
perpetuated.  To  the  average  workman  even  then  it  seems  too 
much  trouble  to  make  the  effort  to  break  away  from  the  old 
method  of  doing  his  job.  Written  instructions,  wage  incentive, 
personal  direction,  and,  for  a  time  at  least,  constant  supervision 
are  all  necessary.  After  a  time  increased  wage  return,  less 
fatigue,  and  the  habit  formed  of  doing  the  work  with  the  proper 
motions,  insure  the  performance  of  the  operation  in  the  stand- 
ardized manner. 

HOW  THE  MOTION  PICTURE  FILM  RECORDS 
TIME  STUDIES  IN  THE  FACTORY 

\\T  ITH  the  aid  of  the  moving  picture  machine,  even  quicker 
than  the  eye  motions  can  be  taken  apart  and  the  work- 
man taught  how  to  put  them  together  more  expertly. 

A  workman  in  an  eastern  factory  was  assembling  a  machine. 
The  parts  were  within  easy  reach,  and  he  was  working  rapidly 


TIME   AND    MOTION   STUDIES 


97 


and  skilfully.  An  expert  watched  him  intently  for  several  hours. 
The  best  record  the  workman  made  was  thirty-seven  and  a  half 
minutes  for  a  machine.  Another  workman  accomplished  the 
same  thing  in  a  little  over  forty  minutes.  Apparently  one  was 
as  skilled  as  the  other,  and  the  expert  could  detect  no  difference, 
nor  anything  that  would  simplify  the  work  of  either. 


Man  No. 

Time  Taken 

Remarks 

Max. 

Min. 

Aver. 

201 

10 

6 

9 

Average  Man 

220 

12 

7 

10 

235 

14 

9 

13 

Slow  Man 

218 

8 

5 

6 

Exceptionally  Good  Man 

Standard  time 

R 

Minutes 

Allow 

10?. 

for  rest  and 

needs 

=  6  Min. 

Per  hour. 

Output  per  hour 

a      60-6    = 

7  pieces 

Hourly  rate  ...25/       8 

Allow 

20?. 

increase  over  day  rate 

Piecework  rate 

=     30/ 

per 

hour 

Piece 

price  — 

•   10.  s  4«3  cents 

each 

Earnings 

under  piecework  on  basis  of  average  output  under  old  conditions 

Man 

No. 

Aver,  time  taken 

Output  per  hour 

Earnings  per  hour 
Tents 

201 

9 

6.0 

25.8 

220 

10 

5.4 

23.22 

235 

13 

4.1 

17.63 

218 

6 

9.0 

38.7 

Allowing  102,  or  6  Min.  Per  Hour  for  resting  and 
personal  needs. 

FORM  XXX:     Fixing  upon  a  standard  time  and  a  stimulating  rate  is  a  vital  matter.  Upon  these 

two  points,  the  whole  wage  system  will  stand  or  fall.       The  method  is  to  make  a  careful  time  study 

of  the  working  speed  of  different  men.     How  this  is  measured  and  calculated  here  appears  in  detail 

A  moving  picture  record  was  made  of  the  whole  process, 
nearly  forty  minutes  of  film.  Then,  using  a  magnifying  glass, 
the  expert  studied  the  photographic  record  for  days.  Finally  he 
began  experimenting  with  tables  and  frames  and  different  forms 
of  holders  for  the  machine  parts.  Today  the  workman  whose 


98 TEACHING  THE   WORKER 

best  record  was  thirty-seven  and  a  half  minutes  is  putting  that 
same  machine  together  in  eight  and  a  half  minutes,  doing  it  more 
easily  than  he  did  before  .and  at  higher  pay. 

In  a  garment  factory  two  women  side  by  side  were  using 
sewing  machines  geared  to  the  same  speed.  Apparently  they 
were  workers  of  equal  skill.  An  expert  watching  them  could 
detect  no  waste  motion  on  the  part  of  either.  A  certain  seam 
took  approximately  three  seconds  and  involved  about  twenty- 
five  motions.  But  one  seamstress  took  a  little  over  three  sec- 
onds; the  other  a  little  less.  Here  was  a  difference  that  in  the 
course  of  a  day  was  proving  costly  to  the  slower  of  the  two,  and 
costly  to  the  manufacturer. 

Moving  pictures  were  called  in,  and  here,  because  of  the  quick- 
ness of  the  work  and  the  narrow  margin  of  variation,  the  time 
element  was  an  especially  important  factor.  A  clock  of  special 
design,  which  makes  readings  down  to  a  small  fraction  of  a  sec- 
ond, was  placed  beside  the  worker  where  it  would  show  on  each 
film. 

A  film  record  was  made  of  each  worker  at  her  machine,  and 
the  expert  took  the  prints  into  his  office  and  sat  down  to  study 
them.  That  study  lasted  for  days.  But  it  ended  in  experiments 
which  shortened  that  operation,  and  others  connected  with  it, 
until  it  is  estimated  already  that  the  efficiency  of  the  shop  has 
been  increased  several  hundred  per  cent. 

These  two  instances  illustrate  how  work-motions  can  be  pulled 
apart,  analyzed  and  built  up  again. 

This  is  not  done  by  making  "  movies "  of  right  and  wrong 
ways  and  then  asking  the  workers  to  study  the  contrasted 
schemes.  The  workman  may  never,  except  in  special  cases,  when 
he  has  to  be  convinced  of  a  fact,  see  the  pictures  at  all.  They 
are  never  even  shown  on  a  screen.  Instead,  the  expert  takes  a 
long  print  from  the  films,  whereon  are  shown  not  only  the  mo- 
tions of  the  operative,  but  the  elapsed  time,  by  means  of  a  clock 
which  splits  seconds  into  small  fractions,  and  studies  them  to 
see  how  long  each  motion  takes,  and  how  it  could  be  shortened. 
Primarily,  the  method  relies  for  its  success  on  the  sleight-of- 
hand  truism  that  ''the  hand  is  quicker  than  the  eye." 

In  the  first-mentioned  instance  of  machine  assembling,  for  ex- 
ample, the  various  parts  of  the  machine  had  been  brought  to  the 


TIME   AND   MOTION   STUDIES 


assembler  and  placed  on  his  bench.  The  assembler  put  the  base 
of  the  frame  in  position,  looked  about  for  the  first  support,  put 
it  in  place,  and  then  repeated  the  process  till  he  had  completed 
the  machine.  That  there  was  waste  motion  was  not  apparent  to 
anyone  but  an  expert,  and  even  the  latter  did  not  realize  how 
far  from  economical  many  of  the  motions  were  till  he  studied 
them  separately,  with  the  clock  recording  on  each  film  the  time 
it  had  taken. 

This  analysis  showed  that  time  was  being  lost  because  the 
parts  were  not  arranged  as  conveniently  as  they  might  be,  be- 
cause the  workman  's  bench  was  often  not  at  the  most  convenient 
height  for  his  stature,  and  because  he  was  reaching  too  far.  The 
experts  studied  the  order  in  which  every  part  was  put  in  place, 
and  then  devised  a  frame,  standing  upright  beside  the  assembler, 
with  hooks  or  spaces  where  a  boy  arranged  each  part.  These 
were  arranged  in  the  order  of  their  use,  from  left  to  right.  An 
assembling  table  of  adjustable  height,  for  use  with  different  sizes 
of  machines  and  for  workmen  of  different  stature,  was  provided. 

Then  the  workman  was  asked  to  put  a  machine  together  aided 
by  the  new  equipment.  He  was  taught  how  to  stand  and  how 
to  reach  for  each  part.  From  the  first  the  method  was  found 
to  work  satisfactorily.  With  practice,  and  further  adjustments 
as  experience  and  further  film  records  suggested,  the  time  was 
gradually  reduced  till  it  stood  at  less  than  one-fourth  of  the 
original. 

A  machine  operation,  the  milling  of  bushings,  was  analyzed 
in  the  same  plant.  The  workman  had  been  in  the  habit  of  reach- 
ing into  a  box  for  the  bushings,  and  after  they  had  been  milled 
dropping  them  into  a  box  behind  him  ready  to  be  carried  away. 
This  was  the  traditional  way,  and  the  operative  who  helped  with 
the  experiments  was  so  skilled  that  there  seemed  hardly  a  waste 
motion.  Moving  pictures  were  used,  and  the  clock  emphasized 
the  long  reaches  that  the  workman  was  making  for  his  raw 
material  and  with  the  finished  product. 

The  answer  was  an  arrangement  whereby  the  bushings  were 
placed  in  a  hopper  above  the  bench,  from  which  they  dropped 
directly  into  the  workman's  hand.  A  hole  cut  through  the  bench 
enabled  him  to  drop  his  finished  product  into  a  box  beneath. 


100 TEACHING  THE   WORKER 

Two  long  reaches  were  cut  out,  with  a  consequent  saving  of 
many  minutes  of  each  hour's  work. 

A  man  can  make  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  mo- 
tions in  the  average  business  day.  If  the  number  involved  in 
a  standard  operation  can  be  halved,  his  effectiveness  as  a  worker 
has  been  multiplied  by  two.  But  to  reduce  the  number  of  mo- 
tions, cutting  out  entirely  the  needless  ones  and  shortening 
others  that  are  too  long,  the  observer  must  be  able  to  know 
exactly  what  those  motions  are,  their  sequence,  and  the  precise 
time  that  they  occupy.  The  film  enables  the  factory  man  to  take 
a  motion  apart  and  keep  the  pieces  for  study. 


'•••  /•"*.  J..  r :'  •  **•* 


Part  III 

WAGE-PAYMENT  PLANS 

AND  HOW 
TO  USE  THEM 


AUTHORITIES  A&D  SOURCES 
FOR  PART  III 


Chapters  XI  and  XII.  Contributed  by  C.  Bertrand  Thomp- 
son, lecturer  on  manufacturing  in  Harvard  University,  from  his 
experience  in  scientific  management  work. 

Chapters  XIII  and  XIV.  Contributed  by  Mr.  Porter  from 
experience  in  the  reorganization  of  several  plants,  together  with 
extensive  studies  embracing  more  than  125  plants,  including 
such  lines  as  textile  manufacture,  electrical  works,  pump  and 
hydraulic  machinery  plants,  hardware  making,  radiator  com- 
panies, brass  foundries,  enamel-ware  making,  excavation  work, 
etc. 

Chapter  XV.  Developed  by  Mr.  Rockwell  from  a  study 
covering  all  the  more  important  profit-sharing  enterprises,  in- 
cluding the  Ford  plant,  Simplex  Wire  and  Cable  Company, 
Dennison  Manufacturing  Company,  Houghton  Mifflin  Company, 
Samuel  Cabot,  Inc.,  A.  W.  Burritt  Company,  Farr  Alpaca 
Company,  Boston  Consolidated  Gas  Company,  Brooklyn  Edison 
Electric  Illuminating  Company,  Eastman  Kodak  Company, 
R.  F.  Simmons  Company,  Bourne  Mills  and  N.  O.  Nelson 
Manufacturing  Company. 

Chapter  XVI.  Contributed  by  Mr.  Porter  from  his  ex- 
perience and  that  of  other  engineers  in  the  reorganization  of  an 
eastern  copper-alloy  mill  and  foundry. 

Chapter  XVII.  Developed  by  Mr.  Murphy  and  Mr.  Porter 
from  a  study  of  timekeeping  methods  in  many  industries,  includ- 
ing Marshall  Field  &  Company,  a  stores  fixture  factory,  Michigan 
Stove  Company,  Clothcraft  shops,  the  Florence  Manufacturing 
Company,  Simplex  Wire  and  Cable  Company,  Amoskeag  Com- 
pany, the  Manila  Bureau  of  Printing,  a  contracting  company, 
a  plant  organized  under  scientific  management,  and  six  other 
plants. 


XI 

FIXING  THE  REWARD 
FOR  WORK 


HOW  do  you  pay  your  men?"  the  manager  of  a  thriving 
New  England  plant  employing  about  a  thousand  hands 
was  asked. 

"I  started  thirty  years  ago  with  a  straight  day  rate,  and  an 
occasional  piece  rate  in  some  departments.  Now  I  am  using 
about  every  system  there  is:  day  rate,  piece  rate,  premium, 
bonus,  some  Taylor  differential  piece  rates,  and  salaries  and 
commissions  in  the  administrative  and  selling  departments. ' ' 

"Why  do  you  use  so  many  methods?" 

"I  have  had  to  in  order  to  meet  the  changing  conditions  of 
the  labor  market,  not  only  with  day  laborers,  skilled  workmen 
and  machinists,  but  with  clerks,  executives  and  salesmen.  Men 
are  entitled  to  a  wage  for  giving  me  their  time  to  dispose  of.  I 
have  to  pay  my  watchmen  just  to  be  present,  though  they  may 
have  nothing  actually  to  do  once  in  ten  years.  But  what  I  want 
more  than  anything  else  is  that  my  men  shall  employ  their  time 
productively,  turning  out  goods,  superintending  manufacture 
more  effectively  or  selling  my  output.  This  takes  more  than 
their  time.  It  takes  their  energy,  their  thought,  their  interest 
and  their  enthusiasm.  I  found  that  these  desirable  things  could 
not  be  had  for  a  mere  day  wage.  The  problem  of  securing  them 
was  one  of  market  conditions  and  the  psychology  of  the  workers. 

*  *  My  grandfather  ran  a  mill  where  the  women  who  tended  the 
machines  would  leave  them  whenever  they  liked  and  go  out  to 
look  after  their  children  playing  in  the  factory  yard.  These 
occasional  absences  didn't  make  much  difference,  since  they 
were  working  twelve  hours  a  day.  Then  the  shortening  of  hours 


1Q4:     .;  .->• .     WAGE   PAYMENT 


began,  until  now  I  am  running  only  forty-eight  hours  a  week. 
In  the  old  days  competition  was  not  very  keen,  and  all  industry 
operated  at  about  the  same  level  of  inefficiency.  Today  we  have 
to  work  for  all  we  get.  And  aboye  all  we  must  have  efficiency 
in  the  factory  and  in  the  selling  field. 

"When  the  pressure  began  to  be  felt,  we  could  get  our  work 
up  by  the  simple  though  disagreeable  process  of  driving.  But 
that  does  not  serve  any  longer.  Workmen,  especially  if  they  are 
skilled,  and  competent  executives  and  salesmen,  do  not  have  to 
stand  if 

What  the  employer  wants,  in  most  cases,  is  of  course  not  the 
mere  time  and  presence  of  the  employee,  but  his  productiveness. 
If  the  manager  could  abolish  day  rates  and  pay  only  by  the  piece 
for  what  the  man  produced  or  sold  and  nothing  more,  he  would 
do  it.  Or,  if  he  held  to  the  day  wage,  he  would  like  to  pay  only 
for  the  time  actually  spent  on  production  or  selling.  He  would 
have  time  tickets  for  every  moment  of  the  day,  and  would  pay 
on  those  only  which  were  productively  used.  If  a  man  waited 
about  between  jobs  it  would  be  on  the  man's  own  time.  This  is, 
of  course,  impracticable.  Many  delays  between  jobs  are  inevita- 
ble, and  others  the  management  has  not  taken  the  trouble  to 
eliminate.  In  the  majority  of  cases  the  employee  who  waits  is 
not  the  one  who  is  responsible  for  the  delay,  and  his  living  can- 
not be  made  dependent  on  other  people's  failures. 

"The  question  I  have  to  solve/'  said  the  manager,  "is  how  to 
get  all  the  time  of  my  employees  occupied  productively,  con- 
tinuously and  efficiently. " 

The  old  answer  to  this  question,  and  one  still  tried  in  some 
places,  is  plain  driving. 

The  expedient  of  cutting  piece  rates  to  such  a  point  that  the 
worker  will  have  to  go  at  a  furious  gait  to  earn  a  living  is  a 
familiar  one.  A  big  company  in  Pennsylvania  worked  this  plan 
regularly  for  several  years,  until  in  the  end  its  men  struck. 
Others  are  still  doing  it,  and  have  "gotten  away  with  it"  thus 
far;  but  competent  workmen  quit  such  concerns,  and  those  who 
remain  are  merely  waiting  for  a  good  chance  to  break  away. 

Human  nature  reacts  on  this  practice  in  much  the  same  man- 
ner in  all  grades  of  employment.  The  contract  system  is  a  mod- 
ification of  the  day  wage,  intended  to  accomplish  some  de- 


PAYROLL   POLICIES 105 

gree  of  speeding  up  without  placing  the  responsibility  for 
driving  where  it  belongs — on  the  employer.  The  manufacturer 
hires  the  contractor  at  a  fixed  sum,  and  the  contractor  sets  a  rate 
of  pay  and  a  speed  of  work  which  will  enable  him  to  get  as  much 
as  possible  out  of  the  contract.  He  has  every  incentive  to  drive 
the  laborer  up  to  and  beyond  the  limits  of  safety.  This  is  the 
essence  of  the  sweating  system.  Its  excesses  can  be  restrained 
only  by  law,  or  by  the  employer  who  steps  in  between  the  con- 
tractor and  his  force ;  and  if  he  does  this  he  may  as  well  eliminate 
the  contractor  altogether.  This  is  just  what  has  happened  at  a 
great  locomotive  works  which  once  had  a  full-fledged  contract 
system,  but  now  retains  only  the  name.  Its  contractors  have 
ceased  to  be  anything  but  sub-foremen. 

This  policy  is  rapidly  waning  in  popularity,  all  the  more  rap- 
idly as  labor  becomes  more  effectively  organized.  The  elimina- 
tion of  ruthless  driving  is  one  of  the  best  things  to  the  credit  of 
the  labor  unions.  Where  the  work  is  mental  rather  than  phys- 
ical, as  in  the  case  of  salesmen,  executives  and  clerks,  driving 
has  never  resulted  in  permanent  gains. 

Intensified  competition  among  managers,  and  a  growing  self- 
consciousness  and  independence  in  the  workmen,  have  made  it 
imperative  that  some  incentive  to  increased  production  be  pro- 
vided, which  will  accomplish  what  driving  was  intended  to  do 
but  did  not.  To  provide  this  incentive  is  one  of  the  tasks  of 
management  today,  and  although  it  is  not  to  be  inferred  that 
every  manager  needs  to  install  a  long  list  of  different  payment 
plans,  adjustment  of  reward  to  work  is  essential  to  efficiency. 

INCENTIVES  TO  INCREASED  PRODUCTION  THAT 
HAVE  SUPPLANTED  DRIVING  METHODS 

HEBE  are  four  principal  levers  by  which  you  can  move  a 
man  to  action:  fear,  pride,  ambition,  loyalty.  Not  all  men 
can  be  moved  by  all  these,  nor  do  they  all  have  the  same  value  as 
incentives  to  efficiency.  Fear  is  one  of  the  strongest  of  the 
emotions  but  is  brutalizing  in  its  effect.  Hence  it  is  least  effect- 
ive, and  is  becoming  daily  more  difficult  to  apply,  except  in 
unusual  conditions.  Mere  pride  or  emulation,  when  aroused, 
works  beautifully  for  a  time,  but  may  soon  wear  out.  People  soon 


106  WAGE  PAYMENT 


get  tired  of  either  winning  or  losing,  especially  if  the  game  is 
costing  them  considerable  effort,  and  the  only  reward  is  "hon- 
orable mention.'7  But  when  combined  in  some  way  with  a 
more  substantial  gain,  pride  may  be  made  a  powerful  incentive. 
Ambition,  when  effectively  appealed  to,  is  stronger  still ;  but  the 
longest  lever  of  them  all  is  loyalty.  People  will  do  most  and 
best  when  they  are  deeply  and  fundamentally  loyal.  Loyalty 
like  love  is  a  more  or  less  unreasoning  force,  which  has  but 
one  aim:  to  do  one's  best  for  mistress  or  manager. 

These  levers  can  be  swung  on  two  fulcrums:  the  market  rate 
of  wages,  or  a  rate  above  the  market.  Money,  of  course,  is  not 
the  only  stimulus  to  ambition.  Promotion  is  a  powerful  force 
and  one  not  to  be  forgotten.  But  the  purpose  here  is  to  show 
how  wages  ' '  at  the  market ' '  may  be  modified  to  rouse  the  motives 
of  efficiency,  and  also,  how  " wages  at  the  market  plus"  can  be 
applied  to  the  same  end. 

The  market  rate  of  wages  obviously  makes  no  appeal  to  am- 
bition. The  forces  determining  it  are  apparently  beyond  the 
control  of  the  individual  laborer,  and  ambition  appeals  to  the 
individual. 

In  a  few  rare  cases  emulation  may  be  brought  into  play.  A 
scheme  has  been  worked  out  in  connection  with  construction 
work  whereby  the  contractors  succeed  in  getting  gangs  and  in- 
dividuals competing  with  each  other.  "Athletic  contests"  are 
arranged  between  gangs  building  piers.  Both  start  at  exactly 
the  same  moment  on  the  same  kind  of  pier;  they  have  the  same 
service,  the  same  bricks  and  mortar.  The  winners  are  decorated 
with  buttons.  When  unaccompanied  by  adequate  rewards,  this 
works  well  for  a  short  time;  and  by  the  time  the  enthusiasm 
has  died  down  the  job  is  ended  and  the  contractors  are  elsewhere 
starting  the  same  "contests"  with  a  new  set  of  workmen.  If 
the  contractor,  however,  cherishes  a  sincere  and  personal  inter- 
est in  his  men  and  gives  it  adequate  expression  in  the  form  of 
vacations,  extra  wages,  and  welfare  work,  enthusiasm  and  emu- 
lation remain  alive  and  i '  contests ' '  continue  to  ring  true. 

The  goad  of  fear  will  make  a  man  work  better  than  no  in- 
centive at  all.  With  wages  at  the  market  it  can  be  brought 
into  play  only  in  bad  times,  when  other  jobs  are  scarce.  When 
all  employers  are  "full  up"  the  men  with  the  jobs  have  got  to 


PAYROLL  POLICIES 107 

do  what  the  boss  tells  them.  When  machinery  sets  the  pace, 
driving  in  its  most  ruthless  form  may  result.  On  the  other  hand, 
there  may  be  no  driving  at  all,  depending  on  conditions. 

Fortunately  the  incentive  of  fear  has  practically  ceased  to 
operate,  especially  with  skilled  men  and  in  highly  organized 
trades.  The  competent  salesman  or  artisan  can  always  get 
another  job,  and  the  unions  will  see  that  the  ordinary  man  is 
not  allowed  to  starve  for  asserting  his  manhood.  And  it  is  well 
for  the  future  of  efficiency  in  industry  that  the  employer  is  forced 
to  appeal  to  some  more  humane  and  elevating  motive. 

The  thing  to  do  is  to  arouse  the  enthusiastic  loyalty  of  the  em- 
ployees. Sometimes  that  is  done  by  the  sheer  force  of  the  per- 
sonality of  the  employer.  Some  managers  are  ' '  magnetic. ' '  They 
draw  people  about  them  by  their  personal  charm.  They  seem  to 
emanate  fairness  and  democracy.  Every  member  of  the  force 
feels  that  the  manager  knows  him  personally  and  likes  him.  This 
is  a  gift  of  the  gods. 

The  president  of  a  great  company  with  five  plants  in  different 
parts  of  the  country  tells  me  that  one  of  the  chief  reasons  for  hi« 
success  in  dealing  with  his  employees — and  his  men  all  swear  by 
him — is  the  fact  that  his  door  is  always  open  to  anyone  who 
wants  to  see  him  for  any  purpose.  Unfortunately  this  policy  is 
limited  in  its  application  both  by  the  personal  deficiencies  of 
many  employers  who  have  not  this  divine  gift,  and  by  the  de- 
fects of  organization  which  do  not  permit  the  ordinary  manager 
to  spend  very  much  of  his  time  on  these  "confabs." 

WHEN  WELFARE  WORK  CONTRIBUTES  TO  EFFICIENCY 
AND  WHEN  IT  FAILS 

A  POLICY  which  is  attracting  increasing  attention  is  "wel- 
fare" work,  which  at  its  best  is  the  policy  of  doing  things 
for  the  employees  which  they  could  not  do  for  themselves — 
not  from  charitable  motives  but  with  the  object  in  view  of  mak- 
ing the  conditions  of  their  life  more  attractive  and  healthful 
and  their  work  more  efficient. 

This  is  a  somewhat  risky  policy,  beset  with  dangers  and  tempta- 
tions. It  has  had  some  conspicuous  failures ;  but  it  has  also  been 
made  to  succeed  conspicuously.  It  appears  to  work  best  when 
it  comes  in  response  to  the  real  needs  of  the  employees,  like  the 


108  WAGE  PAYMENT 


reading  rooms  at  the  desert  stations  on  the  Santa  Fe;  when  it 
is  done  unostentatiously  and  not  for  the  mere  purpose  of  adver- 
tising; and  when  it  is  done  inexpensively  and  economically,  so 
that  there  can  be  no  suspicion  that  large  sums  are  being  spent 
on  frills  which  had  better  be  paid  out  as  wages. 

Here  again  the  personal  factor  enters  largely.  When  "wel- 
fare" work  is  in  the  hands  of  an  unpopular  man, it  almost  in- 
variably fails. 

These  supplements  to  " wages  at  the  market'*  are  helpful,  when 
the  situation  is  such  that  they  can  be  used ;  but  it  is  the  opinion 
of  many  managers  that  after  all  they  are  supplements  only, 
and  that  the  body  of  the  problem  is  the  setting  of  a  fair  market 
rate.  If  your  employees  are  convinced  that  their  rates  are  fairly 
set,  there  may  be  no  great  active  enthusiasm,  to  be  sure,  but  you 
will  have  a  basis  for  a  powerful  appeal  in  time  of  stress.  This 
raises  the  question,  "What  are  fair  wages?" 

Merely  to  answer,  "the  prevailing  rate,"  is  not  to  answer  at 
all.  For  the  question  is,  in  other  terms :  * '  Can  it  be  shown  that 
the  prevailing  rate  is  fair?" 

The  wages  which  might  possibly  be  paid  lie  somewhere  between 
the  lower  limit  of  subsistence  for  the  employee  and  the  lower  limit 
of  subsistence  for  the  employer.  If  the  employee  does  not  get 
at  least  this  minimum  he  will  quit  or  die — or  both.  The  em- 
ployer, on  the  other  hand,  has  got  to  get  enough  to  pay  his 
employees,  to  pay  for  materials  and  equipment,  and  to  support 
himself.  In  addition,  he  has  got  to  clear  enough  to  make  it 
worth  while  for  him  to  stay  in  business  and  take  the  risk  and 
the  trouble  that  this  involves  rather  than  subordinating  himself 
and  taking  employment  with  somebody  else. 
4  The  value  of  the  product  has  nothing  to  do  with  these  minimum 
limits ;  nor  have  these  limits  much  to  do  with  the  value.  Society, 
the  whole  body  of  consumers,  sets  a  value  on  the  product  quite 
independently  of  the  wants  or  needs  of  either  employer  or  em- 
ployee. In  the  bicycle  business,  for  instance,  when  the  com- 
munity at  large  decided  that  it  no  longer  cared  much  for  bicycles, 
no  amount  of  need  on  the  part  of  manufacturers  could  induce 
society  to  pay  what  would  have  been  necessary  to  keep  them  in 
business.  Neither  did  the  fact  that  a  large  number  of  people 
were  thrown  out  of  work  when  the  desire  for  bicycles  disap 


Two  of  the  famous  labor-saving  devices  at  the  Ford  Motor  plant  are  here  shown.  Above  is  th« 
process  of  assembling  the  magneto.  A  continuous  stream  of  work  sets  the  pace,  while  the  arrange- 
ment of  parts  and  the  skid- way  enable  every  man  to  give  a  good  account  of  himself.  The  completed 
chassis  is  tested  on  the  roller-tracks  (below),  and  run  to  the  shipping  platform  under  its  own  power 


An  automatic  conveyor  (upper  right)  provides  one  way  of  maintaining  the  rate  of  production.     Pack- 
ages are  automatically  weighed  out,  and  are  then  closed  as  they  pass  by  the  workers.    In  another  shop 
(below)  a  trucking  schedule  helps  to  keep  each  man  supplied  with  work.     Product  is  taken  away  as 
fast  as  completed.     The  girl  in  the  upper  left  picture  is  inspecting  parts  and  counting  by  weight 


PAYROLL  POLICIES 111 

peared    have    any    effect    on    society's    valuation    of    wheels. 

Society  sets  the  price  or  value  of  work  done  for  it  in  accord- 
ance with  methods  of  its  own,  entirely  distinct  from  the  needs 
of  either  employer  or  employee.  Their  payment  has  got  to 
come  out  of  that  value;  somehow  or  other  it  has  got  to  be  di- 
vided between  employer  and  employee;  and  the  whole  question 
of  fairness  centers  around  the  mode  of  this  division. 

The  popular  theory  among  many  economists  today  is  that  the 
division  is  made  in  proportion  to  the  relative  contributions  of 
each  group  and  even  of  each  individual  engaged  in  the  process 
of  production  and  marketing.  This  would  be  comforting  if  it 
were  true;  but  unfortunately  it  does  not  seem  to  fit  the  facts. 
There  are  certain  stages  in  the  progress  of  some  kinds  of  work 
where  you  can  reckon  the  actual  physical  contribution  of  an  in- 
dividual workman  with  some  degree  of  accuracy;  but  in  no 
industry  is  it  possible  to  determine  what  proportion  of  the  value 
of  the  finished  and  marketed  product  was  contributed  by  any  one 
workman  or  group  of  men. 

If  the  theory  won't  help  us,  perhaps  the  facts  will.  Statistics 
show  with  some  clearness  that  the  wages  of  unskilled  laborers 
vary  with  the  cost  of  living.  When  the  cost  of  subsistence  goes 
up  wages  must  go  up  too.  Wages  of  skilled  labor  are  those  of 
unskilled  plus  a  certain  addition,  determined  by  several  factors, 
as  will  be  seen  in  a  moment.  Statistics  again  show  that  the 
wages  and  salaries  of  skilled  workmen  vary  fairly  closely  with 
the  standard  of  living;  but  it  is  not  clear  in  this  case  which  is 
cause  and  which  is  effect:  that  is,  whether  high  wages  make  a 
high  standard  of  living,  or  vice  versa.  The  probabilities  are 
that  it  is  both ;  when  wages  go  up,  the  standard  of  living  rises ; 
this  makes  a  new  minimum  of  subsistence  for  the  skilled  man. 

The  trained  man  is  also  helped  by  the  possibility  of  getting 
more  in  some  other  line  of  employment.  The  employer  has 
no  measure  of  productivity  in  many  cases  by  which  to  set  the 
salary ;  he  has  to  go  by  what  his  man  can  get  elsewhere ;  he  has 
to  pay  the  man's  " opportunity  cost,"  as  the  economists  call  it. 
Your  clerk  getting  $1,000  thinks  he  can  earn  $1,500  writing  ad- 
vertisements ;  so  he  threatens  to  go  into  the  advertising  business. 
If  you  want  to  keep  him  you  have  got  to  come  up  to  his  new 
expectation,  especially  if  he  is  really  a  competent  man,  and  the 


112  WAGE   PAYMENT 


chances  of  success  are  in  his  favor.  Skilled  men  are  compara- 
tively scarce;  the  demand  for  them  is  great,  and  their  oppor- 
tunity cost  is  therefore  higher.  They^  get  higher  wages  than  the 
unskilled,  not  because  of  any  social  obligation  felt  by  their  em- 
ployers, but  because  they  are  able  to  command  them. 

Another  important  factor  in  determining  the  division  of  the 
value  of  the  product  between  the  employer  and  the  employee  is 
organization.  Organization  counts  tremendously  in  deciding 
what  share  of  the  zone  between  the  limits  of  subsistence  of  the 
employer  and  of  the  employee  falls  to  labor. 

In  the  popular  mind,  to  which  appeal  must  finally  be  made  in 
the  questions  arising  between  capital  and  labor,  a  fair  wage  is 
that  which  permits  the  employees  to  maintain  the  standard  of 
living  to  which  they  are  accustomed,  and  which  therefore  rises 
with  increase  in  the  cost  of  living.  It  will  vary  also  with  the 
margin  between  the  cost  of  materials,  plus  overhead,  and  the 
selling  price ;  that  is,  when  this  margin  is  large  and  business  is 
prosperous,  labor  is  expected  to  get  a  larger  share;  when  the 
margin  falls,  labor  must  expect  a  decrease  of  wages.  This  is  an 
automatic  sliding  scale  which  public  opinion  will  always  support. 

The  president  of  a  large  company,  who  is  especially  inter- 
ested in  the  handling  of  his  labor,  was  asked  how  he  determined 
the  wages  when  he  started  a  new  department.  He  could  not  go  by 
the  market  rate  in  that  vicinity,  for  there  was  none.  He  said  he 
began  by  setting  the  wage  in  accord  with  the  neighborhood  cost 
of  living  and  the  standard  of  the  men  he  would  take  on  for  his 
new  work ;  later  he  modified  the  wages  as  necessity  required  or 
opportunity  allowed.  He  paid  higher  when  he  could,  less  when 
he  had  to. 

Fairness  in  setting  a  rate  "at  the  market"  helps  when  trouble 
comes  and  it  is  necessary  to  make  an  appeal  to  the  sense  of 
justice  of  employees  and  public.  It  is  thus  a  form  of  insurance, 
a  negative  benefit.  It  does  not  arouse  any  enthusiasm,  for  peo- 
ple expect  a  man  to  be  fair,  and  are  merely  not  disappointed 
when  he  is.  To  awaken  the  enthusiastic  support  and  coopera- 
tion without  which  the  efficiency  demanded  by  modern  condi- 
tions cannot  be  had,  calls  for  more  than  merely  market  wages. 


XII 

PAYING  A  PREMIUM  FOR 
EXTRA  EFFORT 


IT  is  pretty  clear  to  most  managers  that  the  policy  of  paying 
wages  and  salaries  ''at  the  market,"  while  it  may  do  for 
the  ordinary  run  of  ordinary  business,  will  not  do  at  all  for 
those  kinds  of  business  which  demand  the  highest  grades  of  pro- 
ductive, administrative  and  selling  ability.  Fair  wages,  sensible 
"welfare  work,"  and  a  winning  personality  in  the  management 
will  get  and  keep  a  fair  organization  of  hardworking,  con- 
scientious "pluggers";  but  it  does  not  and  cannot  secure  that 
brand  of  enthusiasm  which  makes  the  prize-winning  business. 
You  get  prize-winning  talent,  and  then  keep  it  after  you  have 
trained  it,  only  by  offering,  in  some  way,  to  pay  more  for  it  than 
the  other  fellow  pays;  in  other  words,  you  must  set  your  wages 
and  salaries  somehow  "at  the  market  plus"  (Figure  XI). 

Many  plans  and  * '  systems ' '  of  paying  wages  to  workmen  have 
recently  been  invented  and  advocated.  And  yet  what  they  all 
amount  to  is  simply  an  expedient  for  paying  above  the  market 
rate,  and  on  some  basis  more  or  less  directly  connected  with  the 
employee's  output.  Where  the  nature  of  the  work  permits,  as 
in  factory  production,  some  kinds  of  clerical  work,  and  selling, 
the  connection  is  made  as  direct  as  possible,  and  the  bonus  is  in 
some  way  made  proportionate  to  the  increased  output  or  sales. 
In  other  cases  an  indirect  connection  is  established;  but  in  all 
cases  the  aim  of  the  buyer  of  labor  is  to  pay  the  market  rate 
plus  something  added  for  unusual  diligence  and  success. 

As  these  "wage  systems"  are  all  aimed  at  the  same  thing,  to 
arouse  the  enthusiasm  which  leads  to  efficiency,  their  relative 
value  depends  upon  the  success  with  which  each  accomplishes 


114  WAGE   PAYMENT 


this  purpose.  Their  success  depends  upon  the  conditions  under 
which  each  is  introduced  and  maintained.  That  system  is  the 
best  which  under  given  circumstances  produces  the  maximum 
efficiency  with  the  minimum  cost  and  friction. 

The  earliest  method  used  for  this  purpose  was  the  ordinary 
piece  rate.  This  permitted  the  exceptional  workman  to  earn  a 
daily  wage  somewhat  in  excess  of  that  currently  paid.  It  got  as 
high  a  degree  of  efficiency  as  the  workman  was  able  to  devise 
for  himself.  It  was  easy  to  introduce,  and  worked  well — until 
the  management  began  to  feel  that  the  men  were  earning  too 
much,  and  proceeded  to  cut  the  rates.  The  succeeding  history 
of  this  process  is  too  well  known  to  call  for  narration.  Its  inevi- 
table result  was  to  call  the  unions  to  the  protection  of  their  mem- 
bers from  this  form  of  injustice ;  and  the  result  is  that,  except 
under  the  strongest  guarantees  that  the  rates  will  not  be  cut, 
the  unions  have  in  general  opposed  the  system.  Any  change 
from  day  rates  to  piece  rates,  unless  most  carefully  made,  is 
apt  to  arouse  the  opposition  of  the  workmen ;  and  if  it  is  carried 
through  in  spite  of  them,  they  will  take  it  out  in  soldiering,  so 
that  the  effort  to  get  greater  production  is  defeated.  One  big 
concern  obviates  this  by  forbidding  its  employees  to  earn  over 
what  it  considers  a  fair  day  wage.  The  men  are  all  on  piecework, 
but  when  they  have  earned  what  the  company  says  they  should, 
they  are  expected  to  loaf.  Of  course,  they  simply  stretch  out 
the  time  on  each  job  so  as  to  come  out  even  at  the  end  of  the 
day.  This  is  about  the  worst  possible  system,  both  for  the 
management  and  the  men. 

Many  progressive  concerns  have  improved  on  this  by  giving 
a  basic  guaranteed  day  rate,  with  an  addition  for  each  increase 
over  the  normal  production.  They  have  added  to  this  a  sys- 
tematic course  of  instruction,  so  that  their  employees  may 
increase  their  output  to  the  limit. 

The  Towne-Halsey  premium  plan  is  another  system  easy  to 
introduce  and  maintain,  and  productive  of  results.  As  used 
originally  by  the  Yale  &  Towne  Company,  it  consisted  in  set- 
ting a  standard  time  in  which  a  job  should  be  done,  based  on 
the  best  time  in  which  it  had  been  done  in  the  past  by  an  aver- 
age man.  Then  the  workman  was  given  half  or  one-third  the 
time  he  saved  in  doing  the  job.  If  the  standard  time  was  eight 


PREMIUM   AND   BONUS   PLANS 


115 


FIGURE  XI:  Payment  plans  which  are  most  favored  are  standardized  day  work,  straight  piece- 
work, the  Gantt,  Taylor  and  Emerson  plans  and  profit  sharing.  Many  variations  of  the  bonus  or 
premium  principle  might  be  listed.  The  modern  principle,  however,  is  to  standardize  working 
conditions,  find  the  best  way  to  do  the  task,  set  a  minimum  wage  to  reassure  the  worker  who  may 
fear  an  actual  loss  in  wages  and  then  pay  him  for  the  work  he  actually  does 


116  WAGE  PAYMENT 


hours,  the  rate  30  cents  per  hour,  and  the  man  did  it  in  six 
hours,  there  was  added  to  his  regular  wage  of  6x30  cents,  or  $1.80, 
one-half  of  2x30  cents,  or  30  cents,  making  a  total  for  the 
job  of  $2.10,  or  35  cents  per  hour,  tfhe  man  got  a  higher  rate 
and  had  in  addition  two  hours  to  apply  on  another  job  on 
which  he  could  be  earning  the  same  or  a  higher  rate ;  the  firm 's 
overhead  was  less,  its  labor  cost  was  lower,  and  it  was  under  no 
temptation  'to  cut  the  rate. 

The  trouble  with  this  system  came  in  the  method  of  setting  the 
standard  time.  That  was  left  to  the  men,  and  of  course  their 
tendency  was  to  make  the  standard  time  as  large  as  possible, 
for  so  long  as  standards  are  set  by  past  performances  and  not 
by  the  aid  of  time  and  motion  studies  made  by  an  expert,  it  is 
strictly  true  that  the  standard  time  is  set  by  the  men.  There 
are  two  ways  of  meeting  the  difficulty.  One  is  to  reduce 
the  rate  at  which  the  premium  increases;  the  other  is  to  set  the 
standard  time  in  a  better  way.  The  best  known  method  of 
reducing  the  premium  is  the  Rowan  plan ;  the  leading  exponents 
of  the  other  method  (which  was  finally  adopted  in  the  Yale  & 
Towne  plant)  are  the  followers  of  Frederick  W.  Taylor. 

HOW  THE  PREMIUM  IS  FIGURED 
UNDER  THE  ROWAN  PLAN 

E  Rowan  plan  takes  the  standard  time  as  set  by  the  men, 
just  like  the  Towne-Halsey.  But  the  premium  is  figured  dif- 
ferently; the  workman's  share  is  a  percentage  of  his  regular 
rate  equivalent  to  the  percentage  of  the  standard  time  he  has 
saved.  If  the  time  is  eight  hours,  the  rate  30  cents,  and  the 
work  is  done  in  six  hours,  the  two  hours  saved  is  25  per  cent 
of  the  standard,  the  regular  wages  are  6x30  cents,  or  $1.80,  and 
the  premium  is  one-fourth  of  this,  or  45  cents.  In  the  early 
stages  the  premium  is  usually  higher  than  by  the  Towne-Halsey 
plan;  but  it  decreases  as  the  amount  of  saving  increases.  This 
increased  gain  in  earnings,  of  course,  destroys  the  incentive  to 
beat  the  management;  but  it  is  equally  effective  in  penalizing 
honest  efforts  to  make  great  gains.  The  first  20  or  30  per  cent 
increase  in  efficiency  is  easy  for  any  good  man ;  it  is  the  higher 
percentages  which  become  difficult;  and  it  is  just  those  higher 
percentages  which  are  paid  for  at  a  lower  rate  by  the  Rowan 
plan. 


PREMIUM   AND   BONUS  PLANS 117 

Nevertheless  both  the  Towne-Halsey  and  the  Rowan  plans 
have  at  times  been  strikingly  successful.  But  their  defects  are 
glaring,  and  it  was  to  remedy  these  that  Mr.  Emerson  evolved 
his  system.  First  he  sets  a  standard  time  partly  in  accordance 
with  past  achievement,  and  partly  in  accordance  with  what  an 
expert  time  study  shows  would  be  right.  This  standard  is  called 
100  per  cent.  A  workman  must  reach  66  2-3  per  cent  of  this 
to  hold  his  job.  For  every  increase  of  efficiency  beyond  66  2-3 
per  cent  he  gets  a  bonus,  very  small  for  the  first  increases,  and 
becoming  larger  as  he  approaches  the  standard.  At  100  per 
cent  he  gets  20  cents  bonus  on  the  dollar  of  wages;  over  100 
per  cent  he  gets  one  cent  for  each  1  per  cent.  Thus  at  140  per 
cent  efficiency  he  gets  a  bonus  of  60  cents  on  the  dollar.  The 
management  can  afford  this  on  account  of  the  lower  overhead 
cost  per  unit  of  product. 

This  system  involves  a  little  more  work  on  the  part  of  the 
management  than  the  other  in  setting  the  standard  time,  yet  it 
is  conservative  and  ought  not  to  arouse  antagonism.  It  pays 
the  men  a  guaranteed  base  rate,  and  an  increase  for  any  im- 
provement in  efficiency,  this  bonus  increasing  as  the  difficulty 
of  further  increasing  efficiency  becomes  greater.  It  does  not 
leave  the  loophole  for  beating  the  management  that  exists  in 
the  earlier  premium  plans  which  relied  entirely  on  past  per- 
formance records.  On  the  other  hand,  the  gradual  increase  in 
pay,  beginning  at  the  first  little  increases  in  efficiency,  allows 
the  easy-going,  unambitious  workman  a  chance  to  get  a  little 
better  output  and  stop  there,  content  with  his  slightly  increased 
wage.  A  universal  incentive  to  strive  for  the  best  possible  results 
is  lacking. 

The  Taylor  system  (and  the  Gantt,  which  grew  out  of  it)  is 
based  on  a  radically  different  set  of  principles  from  all  these. 
It  sets  a  standard  time  for  each  job  with  a  precision  as  nearly 
scientific  as  the  nature  of  the  work  will  permit.  Materials, 
equipment,  processes  and  methods  are  perfected  first;  then  the 
workmen  are  trained  carefully  and  patiently  to  the  perform- 
ance of  the  work  in  the  best  way  that  experts  can  determine; 
the  result  of  this  process  is  the  standard  time.  It  is  what  the 
trained  man  can  do  under  circumstances  made  as  nearly  ideal 
for  him  as  the  management  can  devise.  After  the  management 


118  WAGE   PAYMENT 


has  done  its  part,  which  is  considerable,  Gantt  says  to  the 
workman : 

"Now  we  will  pay  you  your  usual  wages  until  you  have 
learned  to  do  this  in  the  proper  time.  We  will  provide  you 
with  an  instructor  and  with  all  the  conditions  which  are  neces- 
sary for  you  to  do  it  in  this  time,  and  when  you  have  succeeded 
we  will  pay  you  from  30  to  60  or  100  per  cent  bonus  in  addition 
to  your  regular  wages,  depending  on  the  nature  of  the  work; 
but  whether  you  get  up  to  the  standard  or  not  you  will  never 
be  paid  less  than  your  present  wages. ' ' 

The  plan  known  as  the  Taylor  differential  piece  rate  makes 
the  same  proposition  as  to  standard  time,  conditions  and  instruc- 
tion, but  says  to  the  workman: 

"When  you  have  learned  to  do  this  in  the  standard  time,  we 
will  pay  you  a  piece  rate  higher  than  you  have  had  before ;  but 
if  you  fall  below  the  standard  your  piece  rate  will  be  lower. 
With  a  high  output,  you  will  get  higher  pay  for  more  pieces; 
if  you  fall  below,  you  will  get  lower  pay  for  fewer  pieces." 
This  is  in  effect  a  tremendous  inducement  to  high  efficiency, 
combined  with  a  penalty  for  failure  (Figure  XII). 

REMOVING  THE  DIFFICULTIES  BETWEEN  EFFICIENCY 
SYSTEMS  AND  LABOR  UNIONS 

'T'HESE  methods,  of  course,  set  their  standards  with  due  re- 
gard to  what  a  capable  worker  can  do  permanently  with- 
out injury  to  his  health,  as  has  been  shown  in  several  elaborate 
investigations.  They  are  strongly  selective;  they  appeal  most 
to  the  ambitious,  the  energetic  and  the  intelligent ;  such  workers 
are  brought  to  a  high  plane  of  efficiency  and  are  kept  there  by 
the  prospect  of  the  entire  loss  of  the  bonus  if  they  fall  below 
it.  On  account  of  the  rigidity  with  which  the  standard  is  set  it 
is  impossible  to  beat  the  management ;  and  as  the  gain  is  shared 
between  the  employer  and  the  employee  there  is  no  incentive 
to  cut  rates,  and  every  inducement  to  keep  them  up.  The  per- 
centage of  bonus  that  goes  to  the  workman  is  not  arbitrary,  but 
is  the  result  of  experiments  made  to  determine  what  percentage 
would  get  the  largest  number  of  workmen  up  to  the  standard. 
And  the  results  of  the  system  when  it  is  applied  in  its  entirety 
are  in  some  cases  so  extraordinary  as  to  seem  incredible. 


PREMIUM   AND   BONUS  PLANS 


119 


But,  on  the  other  hand,  the  Taylor  system  is  the  most  difficult 
to  develop  and  maintain.  It  involves  a  degree  of  intelligence 
and  ability  on  the  part  of  the  management  which  is  compara- 
tively rare.  Though  the  results  read  like  a  fairy  tale,  to  get 


Method 
Tools 
Jime 

r\  Standardize  Work  [• 

Method 

-|      Assign  Task       [• 
-j     Teach  Worker      | 
•j  Pay  for  Efficiency  [• 

Minimum  Quantity 
Standard  Quality 

Bonus  20-50%  of  Wage  if  Task  Is  Attained 
Day  Wage  Otherwise 

Directs  System 

Investigate  for  Better  Methods 
Standardize  and  Time  Work 
Write  Instructions 

Train  Individual  Workers 
Supply  and  Remove  Tools  and  Work 
Tollow  Instructions 
Check  Output  for  Quantity  and  duality 

H     Superintendent    \ 

-  Organization 

Training  Men 
in  Habits  of 
Industry  and 
Cooperation 

•j       Instructors       |- 
-j      Gang  Bosses      [ 
-\        Workmen        |- 
H       Inspectors       J- 

Training  Supplies  Men  for  Supervisory  Work 
Inspectors  Report  All  Failures  to  Earn  Bonus 
Bad  Conditions  Threaten  Bonus  and  Bring  Out  Protests 
Bonus  of  Gang  Boss  Depends  on  Bonus  Earnings  of  His  Man 
Management  Investigates  Every  Report 

AH  Work  Can  Be  Scheduled 
Expert  Knowledge  Becomes  General 
Teaches  and  Compels  Management  to  Manage 
Relieves  Workmen  from  Management  Duties 

"Promptness 
Accuracy 

Enforcement 
Factors 

Advantages 

Develops 
Workers  for 

Reliability 
Less  Wasted  Time 
Greater  Interest  and  Pride 
Less  Effort  and  Fatigue 
Better  Health 

al  Costs 
pital  Rewards 

Culls  Out  Incapacity 
Reduces  Direct  and  Tot 
Increases  Labor,  and  Ca 

FIGURE  XII:  The  announcement  by  H.  L.  Gantt  of  his  plan  for  "training  men  in  habits  of  in- 
dustry and  cooperation"  by  a  task  and  bonus  method  of  work  and  pay  marked  an  epoch  in  the  study 
of  factory  efficiency.  How  the  system  is  installed,  and  the  advantages  his  experience  ascribes  to  it, 

are  indicated 

them  requires  an  investment  of  time,  money  and  patience  which 
few  feel  prepared  to  make.  In  addition,  there  is  a  tendency  on 
the  part  of  the  unions  to  oppose  all  "efficiency"  systems,  under 


120  WAGE   PAYMENT 


which  term  they  hash  together  everything  except  straight  day 
rates. 

The  difficulty  with  the  men,  however,  is  insignificant  in  com- 
parison with  the  trouble  which  the  management  has  with  itself. 
The  Taylor  system  is  a  radically  new  departure  which  calls  for 
an  entirely  different  spirit  and  attitude  of  the  management 
toward  its  responsibilities.  It  challenges  the  management  to 
mwiaffe;  and  this  is  precisely  what  they  are  most  averse  to 
doing,  so  long  as  they  can  get  along  somehow  or  other  with  the 
men  managing  for  them.  Isn't  this  a  question  for  every  man- 
ager to  consider? 

The  problem  of  the  relation  of  the  labor  unions  to  all  systems 
of  efficiency  is  not  so  hopeless  as  it  seems.  The  unions  have 
been  productive  of  an  immense  amount  of  good;  and  the  evil 
for  which  they  have  been  responsible  is  due  partly  to  the  stand 
of  their  employers,  and  to  the  ignorance  in  regard  to  economic 
conditions  and  facts  in  which  they  have  been  left  by  those  who 
ought  to  know  better.  Their  opposition  to  piece  rates,  for 
instance,  is  entirely  justifiable,  in  view  of  the  history  of  this 
particular  method  of  payment. 

On  the  other  hand,  their  aversion  to  modern  methods  of 
management  is  chargeable  to  two  causes,  both  of  them  bound  to 
disappear :  the  fear  on  the  part  of  some  of  the  leaders  that  with 
wages  paid  in  proportion  to  efficiency  there  will  be  no  further 
need  for  unions,  and  the  fear  on  the  part  of  the  rank  and  file 
that  increased  output  means  a  decrease  in  the  number  of  those 
employed. 

Not  all  labor  leaders  share  this  type  of  fear,  however.  Some 
of  them  see  that  their  unions  exist  for  many  other  indispensable 
purposes  besides  getting  higher  wages;  and  that  even  with  the 
best  bonus  system  there  will  be  the  same  necessity  for  organized 
labor  to  protect  itself  against  the  greed  of  unscrupulous  em- 
ployers who  will  succumb  to  the  temptation  to  cut  bonuses  as 
their  forefathers  cut  piece  rates.  The  only  way  to  meet  this 
is  by  an  unvarying  and  long-continued  regime  of  absolute  fair- 
ness and  reliability  in  their  relations  with  their  workmen  on 
the  part  of  all  employers. 

The  other  objection,  that  increased  output  means  diminished 
employment,  is  more  subtle;  yet  the  facts  of  history  show  how 


PREMIUM   AND   BONUS   PLANS 


increased  output  means,  in  the  long  run,  lower  prices,  greatly 
increased  demand,  and  increased  employment  to  meet  the  new 
demand.  Also  that  it  means  a  larger  dividend  in  which  the 
laborer  may  share,  and  a  lower  cost  for  the  products  which 
he  consumes. 

With  the  disappearance  of  these  two  fears,  employers  and 
unions  are  bound  to  unite  eventually  in  a  common  effort  to 
increase  the  efficiency  of  production  and  distribution. 


XIII 

I 

MAKING  THE  MOST  OF 
DAY  WORK 


DAY  WORK  is  one  of  the  two  "natural"  ways  of  paying 
men  for  their  services.  Piecework  is  the  other.  Bonus 
and  premium  systems  are  all  variations  of  either  one  or 
the  other.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  all  systems  go  back  to  day 
work  as  a  basis,  and  all  are  attempts  to  remedy  seeming  short- 
comings in  the  ordinary  day-work  plan.  And  all,  in  the  final 
working  out,  practically  resolve  themselves  into  essential  day 
work.  But  in  the  interim,  a  great  change  takes  place.  Wages 
are  raised,  costs  are  cut,  production  increased,  men  taught  to 
see  the  definite  relation  between  stipend  and  service.  Thus  the 
end  is  good;  hence,  the  means  appears  justified. 

But  practically  all  so-called  efficiency-payment  systems  require 
a  tremendous  amount  of  judiciously  directed  persistence,  a  long 
interval  of  time,  and  a  heavy  expense  to  install.  Moreover,  only 
a  thoroughly  standardized  plant,  working  on  a  standard  output, 
lends  itself  readily  to  their  application.  And  when  all  is  said 
and  done,  even  in  such  a  plant  many  kinds  of  work  remain 
which  it  is  not  practical  to  handle  on  any  other  than  the  day- 
work  plan.  So  that  the  problem  of  making  day  work  satisfac- 
tory confronts  all  manufacturers,  and  probably  always  will. 

Lack  of  uniformity  in  the  method  of  payment,  such  as  always 
exists  in  a  plant  where  part  of  the  men  are  day  workers  and 
part  under  some  other  method,  is  always  a  source  of  confusion. 
The  clerical  work  in  arriving  at  costs  and  making  up  the  pay- 
roll is  complicated.  Plain  day  workers  are  antagonized.  Piece 
or  bonus  workers  are  retarded  in  their  development.  Team 
work,  the  thing  most  to  be  desired  in  any  plant,  is  made  very 


DAY   WORK  123 


difficult.  It  is  a  case  of  a  " kingdom  divided  against  itself." 
Day  work  is  the  only  plan  which  permits  of  entire  uniformity 
in  the  method  of  payment  and  is  the  simplest  of  all  plans  from 
the  payroll  standpoint. 

In  view  of  these  things,  factory  managers  are  asking  them- 
selves, "Is  there  not  some  way,  after  all,  of  getting  results  with 
day  work?  Some  system  whereby  the  production  stimulus  of 
efficiency-payment  plans  may  be  secured  without  sacrificing 
the  uniformity  and  simplicity  of  the  day-work  plan. 

Fifty  managers  out  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  who  were 
asked  this  question  replied  in  the  affirmative.  A  great  many 
said,  "Yes,  if  you  have  good  foremen. "  One  said,  "The  golden 
rule  will  do  it.  Men  respond  to  'square'  treatment  always/' 
Another  said,  "Yes,  if  men  are  assured  steady  positions  and 
good  chance  of  advancement. ' '  Another  said,  ' '  Yes,  if  you  base 
raises  on  efficiency. ' '  Another  said,  ' '  Yes,  if  the  work  is  mapped 
out  and  men's  rates  of  pay  are  adjusted  in  accordance  with 
output;  but  first-class  foremen  are  very  essential. "  Another 
said,  "High-class  men — Yes!  If  they  are  not  in  that  class,  we 
drop  them." 

Even  so  prominent  an  advocate  of  efficiency-payment  plans 
as  Frederick  W.  Taylor,  the  originator  of  perhaps  the  most 
sharply  stimulative  of  all,  stated  in  a  paper  read  some  years 
ago  before  the  American  Society  of  Mechanical  Engineers, 
"With  accurate  time  knowledge  as  a  basis,  surprisingly  large 
results  can  be  obtained  under  any  scheme  of  payment  from  day 
work  up ;  there  is  no  question  but  that  ordinary  day  work,  rest- 
ing upon  this  foundation,  will  give  greater  satisfaction  than  any 
of  the  efficiency-payment  systems  in  common  use,  standing,  as 
they  do,  upon  soldiering  as  a  basis." 

The  following  experience  of  an  automobile  plant  would  appear 
to  lend  strength  to  the  statements  in  favor  of  day  work  by  the 
several  managers  quoted  and  by  Mr.  Taylor. 

The  advent  of  a  new  management  was  the  occasion  for  exten- 
sive reforms  all  along  the  line.  The  method  of  payment  was  not 
changed,  save  to  abolish  the  contract  system  formerly  in  vogue 
and  place  all  men  upon  a  basis  of  direct  dealing  with  the  man- 
agement. 

The  first  step  upon  the  abolition  of  the  contract  system  was  to 


124  WAGE   PAYMENT 


place  all  foremen  on  a  salary  basis  with  a  schedule  of  bonuses 
for  increasing  production.  One  foreman  refused  to  stay  at  $30 
per  week.  Many  quit  without  parley.  But  others  were  soon 
found  to  take  their  places,  glad  to  work  on  the  new  basis.  One 
foreman,  who  had  the  contract  for  making  seats,  was  found  to 
have  cleared  in  a  day  as  much  as  the  average  foreman  received 
in  salary  in  a  month.  No  wonder  such  as  he  refused  to  continue 
on  a  salary  basis  at  $30  per  week ! 

Simultaneously  a  department  was  established  to  design  special 
tools  and  equipment,  also  a  planning  department  to  work  in 
conjunction  with  the  tool  and  engineering  departments. 

It  became  the  duty  of  the  planning  department  to  set  about 
at  once  to  ascertain  the  exact  time  and  cost  of  all  operations. 
Accordingly,  the  men  were  all  put  on  job  time  tickets  and 
required  to  make  a  record  of  time  started  and  time  stopped, 
by  means  of  a  time-recording  clock,  on  all  operations.  When  a 
job  was  finished  or  at  the  end  of  a  pay  period,  the  total 
pieces  finished,  elapsed  time  and  machine  number  were  entered 
on  the  tickets,  and  these  were  turned  in  to  the  planning  depart- 
ment. 

By  this  means,  in  the  course  of  a  few  months,  data  was  col- 
lected which  gave  the  management  a  pretty  good  line  on  what 
the  time  and  cost  of  each  operation  should  be  and  enabled  the 
planning  department  to  assign  the  work  of  different  men  and 
machines  with  a  fair  degree  of  intelligence. 

BLACKBOARD  SCHEDULES  THAT  SET  THE  PACE 
FOR  DAY  WORK 

PRODUCTION  was  controlled  by  means  of  daily  reports 
which  the  inspector  made  out.  The  production  of  each  day 
was  required  to  be  moved  forward  so  that  the  actual  daily  pro- 
duction showed.  Every  department  was  provided  with  a  large 
blackboard  covered  by  a  glass  door,  to  which  the  inspector  car- 
ried the  key.  Upon  this  board  he  chalked  up  each  day's  pro- 
duction. The  schedule  for  each  day  was  marked  on  the  board 
in  advance.  If  the  schedule  was  reached,  a  certain  mark  was 
made;  if  not,  another  mark;  if  bettered,  still  a  different  one. 
As  the  boards  were  in  plain  view,  the  showing  of  the  department 


DAY   WORK  125 


was  thus  kept  constantly  before  everybody.  Once  a  month  the 
schedule  was  advanced  slightly,  until  it  had  reached  what,  from 
the  information  of  the  planning  department,  seemed  a  practical 
maximum.  At  any  rate,  this  mark  was  a  considerable  improve- 
ment. 

In  this  way  production  was  increased  in  the  space  of  a  few 
months  more  than  twenty-five  per  cent  without  adding  over  five 
per  cent  to  overhead  expense,  and  without  a  change  in  the 
method  of  payment,  save  that  already  noted.  The  bonus  paid  the 
foremen  for  increasing  production  proved  sufficient  to  make 
them  as  interested  in  the  production  boards  as  the  management. 

Another  noteworthy  change  made  was  the  radical  rearrange- 
ment of  departments,  whereby  the  number  of  departments  was 
greatly  increased  and  each  made  to  consist  of  but  a  few  machines 
necessary  to  complete  the  operations  on  a  single  part.  A  skilled 
workman  was  placed  in  charge  of  each  department  and  paid  a 
little  higher  rate  than  the  men  under  him. 

It  was  found  under  this  plan  that  the  work  for  the  most  part 
could  be  accomplished  with  comparatively  unskilled  labor,  as 
the  tool  and  jig  equipment  was  such  that  all  a  workman  had  to 
do  was  to  put  his  work  in  the  machine  and  start  it  going.  The 
skilled  mechanics  were  then  used  as  supervisors  or  in  the  tool 
department. 

The  supervisors,  from  the  general  foreman  up,  were  put  on 
the  bonus  list,  which  was  divided  in  three  classes :  Class  A  com- 
prised the  manager  and  his  assistant ;  Class  B,  the  superintend- 
ents and  their  assistants ;  Class  C,  the  general  foremen  and  their 
assistants.  The  bonuses  for  these  three  classes  averaged  for 
Class  A,  $3,000  cash  per  annum;  Class  B,  $1,500;  Class  C, 
$1,000,  in  addition  to  the  regular  salaries.  The  bonus  amounted 
to  about  eight  dollars  per  car  above  a  certain  daily  output,  and 
added  about  five  per  cent  to  the  overhead,  but  the  production 
was  increased  several  times  that  amount.  Eventually  the  oper- 
ating expense  was  so  cut  that  the  overhead  was  reduced  from 
180  per  cent  to  165  per  cent. 

Output,  therefore,  was  increased  from  forty  to  seventy  cars 
per  day,  without  increasing  factory  space  or  equipment;  the 
cost  of  bodies  reduced  from  $67  to  $49 ;  a  car  that  had  sold  at  a 
loss  at  $2,500  now  produced  a  profit  at  $1,000,  without  any 


126  WAGE   PAYMENT 


noticeable  change  in  design ;  the  time  of  a  final  assembling  oper- 
ation on  a  car  cut  from  a  day  or  more  to  ten  minutes — all  with- 
out changing  the  method  of  payment. 

This  does  not  say  that  the  production  would  not  have  been 
further  increased  by  supplying  an  additional  incentive  to  the 
men.  The  manager  is  frank  to  admit  that  it  might  have  been. 
But  it  does  show  that  the  method  of  payment  'is  not  nearly 
so  important  in  its  relation  to  increasing  production  as  has 
been  so  generally  supposed.  What  is  shown  to  be  important 
is:  Definite  knowledge  of  time  and  cost  of  operations;  schedul- 
ing of  work;  separation  of  planning  from  execution;  and  team 
spirit  engendered  in  the  supervising  force  by  means  of  produc- 
tion boards  and  bonuses. 

A  weak  spot  in  this  plan  would  seem  to  be  the  omission  of 
the  workmen  from  sharing  in  special  rewards  for  increased 
production.  But  this  omission  is  only  apparent.  The  men  were 
given  a  bonus  in  the  shape  of  a  half-holiday  every  now  and 
then,  at  unexpected  times,  to  see  a  ball  game,  or  when  something 
extraordinary  was  going  on  in  the  town — with  full  pay.  In  all, 
these  half-holidays  amounted  to  two  or  three  days  every  three 
months.  That  this  consideration  was  fully  appreciated  by  the 
men  was  shown  by  the  fact  that  production  suffered  hardly  at  all 
by  reason  of  the  time  out,  as  they  always  worked  harder  the  next 
two  or  three  days  after  a  holiday  to  make  up. 

Their  interest  in  the  output  of  the  plant  was  further  enlisted 
by  posting  all  large  orders  and  making  every  one  feel  a  respon- 
sibility for  getting  each  order  out  on  time.  Numerous  other 
expedients  were  added  from  time  to  time  to  keep  the  men  inter- 
ested and  to  cement  their  loyalty. 

METHODS  BY  WHICH  MANAGERS  HOLD  THE  LOYALTY 
OF  THEIR  DAY  WORKERS 

CUMMED  up  in  two  words,  making  day  work  satisfactory 
requires,  first,  knowledge;  second,  interest:  knowledge  on 
the  part  of  the  management  of  the  time  and  cost  of  all  opera- 
tions; interest  on  the  part  of  the  men,  enlisted  by  a  production 
scheme  which  appeals  to  the  sporting  instinct  in  every  man  and 
cemented  by  square  and  generous  treatment. 
Included  in  the  square  and  generous  treatment,  of  course, 


Machine  work  before  and  after  reorganization  in  a  Belgian  plant  is  here  illustrated.       The  old  way 

was  to  deliver  the  parts  on  a  table,  tool  them,  and  toss  them  on  the  floor.      Under  the  new  plan,  the 

parts  came  to  the  machine  on  a  wheelbarrow  and,  after  tooling,  were  placed  in  another  wheelbarrow 

for  conveyance  to  the  next  process 


How  rehandling  material  was  saved  in  an  American  lumber  mill  is  indicated  by  these  two  views.     In 

the  lower  picture  the  operator  deposits  the  milled  lumber  on  a  small  table  from  which  it  has  to  be 

transferred  to  a  truck.     The  new  plan  is  to  bring  in  the  lumber  on  a  truck  of  the  proper  height  and 

deposit  the  milled  pieces  on  a  similar  truck  ready  for  the  next  move 


DAY   WORK 


are  good  wages  and  equal  pay  for  equal  work.  Men's  loyalty 
cannot  be  held,  if,  by  reason  of  welfare  work,  half-holidays 
with  full  pay,  and  so  forth,  the  management  expects  them  to 
work  at  a  lower  scale  than  men  in  similar  lines  elsewhere.  If 
they  can  get  better  pay  elsewhere,  they  are  bound  to  be  dis- 
satisfied. That  the  "well-paid  workman  is  the  only  contented 
workman, ' '  is  almost  axiomatic.  However,  managers  have  found 
that  most  men  prefer  day  work  at  two  dollars  per  day  to  piece 
or  bonus  work  which  nets  them  two  dollars  and  a  half  or  more. 
The  assurance  of  a  fixed  income  appeals  to  them  more  than  the 
prospect  of  a  larger  but  indeterminate  one.  Thus  it  would  seem 
that  there  are  other  elements  in  the  reward  to  the  worker  than 
the  mere  money  consideration.  And  it  is  by  taking  these  other 
elements  into  calculation  that  managers  are  able  to  get  results 
with  the  day-work  plan. 

Equal  pay  for  equal  work  may  well  be  reckoned  as  one  of  the 
most  important  of  these  other  elements.  In  many  instances 
where  day  work  is  failing  to  produce  results,  analysis  has  shown, 
as  in  the  recent  instance  of  a  woodworking  plant  where  the 
labor  turnover  was  excessive,  that  men  doing  precisely  the  same 
work  are  rated  widely  different,  not  on  the  basis  of  their  produc- 
tion, but  because  of  the  length  of  service,  or  age,  or  number  of 
dependencies,  or  different  degrees  of  "standing  in  with  the 
boss/' 

Of  course,  length  of  service,  particularly  if  the  service  has 
been  faithful,  is  deserving  of  some  consideration.  And  if  it  is 
not  given  due  consideration,  good  men  will  not  stay.  How, 
then,  is  this  consideration  to  be  given  if  not  by  advancing  the 
wage  scale? 

One  manager  met  the  situation  by  a  system  of  bonuses  based 
upon  the  length  of  service  and  satisfaction  given.  At  the  end 
of  the  first  year,  the  men  are  paid  a  certain  per  cent  of  this 
year's  wage  in  addition;  at  the  end  of  the  second,  a  little  higher 
per  cent;  at  the  end  of  the  third  year,  still  a  little  higher,  and 
so  on. 

Another  advantage  of  day  work  is  that  under  it  the  task 
of  inspection  is  simplest.  Where  men  are  paid  by  the  piece 
or  where  their  earnings  depend  directly  on  accomplishing  a 
certain  piece  of  work  in  a  given  time,  they  are  inclined  to  be 


130 WAGE   PAYMENT 


careless,  and  as  a  result  a  more  or  less  elaborate  and  rigorous 
system  of  inspection  becomes  necessary.  Even  where  each  work- 
man plays  inspector  on  the  preceding  one,  the  management  has 
to  hold  a  tight  rein  under  any  incentive  system. 

The  new  objection  to  efficiency  payment  plans,  brought  out  by 
the  manager  of  a  woodworking  plant  where  the  plder  workmen 
are  allowed  to  hold  stock  and  thus  share  the  fortunes  of  the  con- 
cern, is  that  they  encourage  selfishness,  or  in  other  words,  stimu- 
late individual  development  at  the  expense  of  team  work.  But 
in  several  organizations  that  are  operating  smoothly  on  an  in- 
centive basis,  correctives  have  been  applied  in  the  shape  of 
department  bonuses,  production  schemes  that  enlist  the  interest 
of  the  whole  force  in  the  output  of  the  plant,  men's  meetings, 
competitive  sports  and  other  side-line  activities  that  counter- 
act very  largely  the  tendency  to  extreme  individualism  to 
which  not  only  efficiency  payment  plans,  but  fine  subdivision 
of  the  labor  and  even  a  highly-geared  day  wage  lead. 

Under  no  scheme  of  payment  is  the  manager  relieved  from 
the  duty  of  so  managing  that  as  men  are  stimulated  to  greater 
effort  they  do  not  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  they  are  integral 
parts  of  one  great  whole,  and  that  in  the  end  the  security  and 
profitableness  of  each  man's  job  depends  on  all  working  in  close 
harmony  for  a  common  end — the  profitableness  and  permanence 
of  the  industry  itself.  The  precise  form  of  payment  is  not 
material,  so  long  as  the  treatment  appeals  to  the  men  as  fair  and 
they  see  a  direct  relation  between  the  quality  and  quantity  of 
their  output  and  the  treatment  accorded. 


XIV 

HOW  TO  APPLY  PIECE  RATES 


BONUS  payment  eventually  resolves  itself  into  simple  day 
work,  but  with  this  difference:     Whereas  ordinary  day 
work — the  payment  of  a  sum  of  money  for  a  time,  not  a 
service — makes  no  stipulation  as  to  the  amount  of  work  done, 
bonus  day  work  fixes  the  service  also.    The  level  of  day  wages 
is  also  raised,  but  not  always  in  proportion  to  the  increase  in  out- 
put.   When  the  dead-level  of  higher  production  at  bonus  day 
wages  has  been  reached,  however,  what  then  ?    How  is  the  incen- 
tive to  still  greater  output  to  be  supplied — by  the  addition  of 
bonus  to  bonus,  or  premiums  on  bonus,  or  how? 

This  is  one  weak  point  of  some  applications  of  the  bonus  sys- 
tem, or  any  system  which  retains  the  old  day  wage  and  bases 
reward  for  increased  output  on  some  fixed  percentage  of 
the  day  wage.  If  fixed,  it  does  not  provide  for  increasing  auto- 
matically the  reward  when  the  standard  has  been  exceeded  or 
the  commensurate  rewarding  of  a  workman  for  increments  in 
his  efficiency  short  of  the  standard.  To  many  this  seems  not 
only  inadequate  but  unfair.  To  them  both  a  more  adequate 
and  a  fairer  way  is  to  proportion  reward  exactly  to  effort  as 
measured  in  output.  Then  the  emphasis  is  placed  on  the  work 
to  be  done,  and  not  the  time  to  be  spent  in  doing  it,  and  for  each 
small  increase  in  ability  to  do  the  thing  faster  there  is  a  propor- 
tionate monetary  reward. 

Straight  piecework,  where  it  can  be  adopted,  and  its  applica- 
tion is  not  nearly  so  limited  as  very  generally  supposed,  ideally 
meets  this  condition,  and  every  other  form  of  efficiency  wage 
payment  is  in  a  degree  a  makeshift  or  approximation.  Piece- 


132  WAGE  PAYMENT 


work  is  the  natural  method  of  compensation  for  work  performed. 
Day  work  really  resolves  itself  into  piecework  when  a  worker  is 
required  to  do  a  stated,  quantity  of  work  in  a  stated  time. 
But  it  is  inadequate  and  unfair  in  that  it  does  not  increase  a 
man's  pay  when,  in  the  given  time,  he  performs  more  than  he 
is  supposed  to.  On  the  other  hand,  if  he  fails  to  measure  up, 
he  is  paid  just  as  much,  which  is  inadequate  and  unfair  from 
the  management's  point  of  view.  If  a  workman  is  entitled  to 
more  pay  for  more  work,  the  management  is  justified  in  deduct- 
ing pay  when  value  received  is  not  given.  Piecework  auto- 
matically accomplishes  this  adjustment  of  reward  to  output. 

Why,  then,  though  successfully  applied  to  industries  and 
operations  of  every  description,  has  piecework  in  many  cases 
failed  to  give  satisfaction  ?  Is  it  that  the  piecework  plan  meets 
some  conditions  perfectly,  others  less  so,  and  still  others  not 
at  all  ?  Or  is  the  complete  satisfaction  from  it  on  the  one  hand 
and  complete  dissatisfaction  on  the  other  due  to  its  correct 
application  in  the  one  case  and  incorrect  in  the  other  ? 

Analysis  of  failures  of  the  piecework  plan  almost  without 
exception  show  the  fault  to  be  primarily  with  the  method  of 
setting  prices.  In  one  factory  (which  is  typical)  prices  were 
found  to  be  set  by  the  individual  foreman,  sometimes  on  the 
basis  of  a  few  hours'  observation,  again  on  the  basis  of  what 
an  average  good  man  could  do  in  a  day,  but  most  generally  on 
the  basis  of  what  the  foreman  estimated  could  be  done — that  is, 
on  the  basis  of  guess,  which  is  no  basis  at  all. 

Prices  so  set  invariably  breed  trouble.  Seldom  are  they  too 
low.  If  too  high,  the  men  conceal  the  fact  by  limiting  their  out- 
put— if  they  have  reason  to  expect  that  to  exceed  a  certain  earn- 
ing will  only  mean  slashing  of  the  prices. 

A  concomitant  fault  of  setting  rates  by  guess,  is  setting  them 
too  soon.  This  is  a  very  common  blunder  in  unsystematized 
plants.  The  management  in  its  anxiety  to  cut  costs  and  get  men 
to  do  a  fair  amount  of  work,  without  excessive  supervision,  makes 
haste  to  get  as  much  out  of  the  shop  as  possible  on  a  piecework 
basis,  regardless  of  conditions.  Without  stopping  to  analyze  an 
operation  or  improve  a  condition,  on  the  basis  of  the  crudest  sort 
of  record,  or  on  the  "guess-about-right"  of  the  foreman — prices 
are  set. 


PIECEWORK  1S3 


"Put  it  up  to  the  workmen!"  is  the  next  step.  Put  up  to 
them  the  responsibility  for  keeping  machines  in  condition,  get- 
ting work  to  the  machines  and  getting  it  away  when  done. 

When  such  conditions  as  these  have  gone  on  for  a  time,  only 
remarkable  good  fortune  as  well  as  good  leadership  will  secure 
a  readjustment  without  precipitating  a  strike  or  walk-out  among 
the  men. 

One  of  the  worst  examples  of  what  hastily  and  improperly  set 
piece  prices  result  in,  was  found  in  the  grinding  room  of 
a  large  iron-working  plant.  There  were  about  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  men  in  the  room,  mostly  Austrians,  under  one  general 
foreman  and  four  sub-foremen,  engaged  variously  in  sand-blast- 
ing, chipping,  grinding,  rubbing  and  drilling  castings  for  every 
description  of  sanitary  fixture — bath  tubs,  sinks,  bowls,  fountains, 
lavatories,  and  their  accessories. 

About  one-half  of  the  room  was  on  piecework;  the  other  half 
on  day  work,  at  a  low  rate  per  hour.  The  pieceworkers  practically 
ran  things  to  suit  themselves.  Not  one  of  the  foremen  was  really 
competent.  Work  coursed  through  without  any  attempt  to  spe- 
cialize. No  attempt  was  made  to  assign  jobs.  Each  man  helped 
himself,  and  it  was  a  case  of  the  strongest  and  quickest  men 
getting  the  cream  of  the  work  continually. 

On  some  of  the  articles  the  men  could  easily  earn  fifty  to  sev- 
enty-five cents  an  hour ;  on  others  less  down  to  twenty  cents ;  and 
there  were  a  few  articles  which  no  pieceworker  would  handle  if 
he  could  possibly  avoid  it — which  meant  getting  some  day  worker 
to  do  it,  and  the  foreman  very  considerately  kept  a  number  of 
day  workers  handy  for  this  express  purpose. 

To  avoid  hard  feelings,  the  choice-priced  stuff  was  distributed 
around  as  evenly  as  possible.  The  men  would  put  this  through 
in  a  hurry,  making  their  day's  wages  ofttimes  in  two  or  three 
hours ;  then  the  rest  of  the  day  they  would  loaf  through  the  less 
desirable  work — quitting  early  and  spending  as  much  time  as 
they  dared  in  the  toilets.  Bad  pieces  they  were  given  credit  for 
the  same  as  good  ones.  Pieces  which  did  not  pass  inspection  for 
their  workmanship,  instead  of  being  returned  to  them,  were 
accommodatingly  fixed  up  by  day  workers. 

Machines  were  located  haphazard  without  respect  to  straight- 
line  forward  travel  and  minimum  handling  of  the  product.  As 


134  WAGE  PAYMENT 


a  result,  one  trucker  was  required  for  almost  every  machine 
operator,  and  material  zig-zagged  and  back-tracked  on  itself  to  an 
amazing  degree.  ^ 

There  was  almost  a  total  disregard  of  day  workers.  Although 
nearly  half  the  force,  they  were  allowed  to  do  about  as  they 
pleased;  little  attempt  was  made  to  get  a  fair  day's  work  out 
of  them.  Two  of  the  operations,  which  were  day  work  ex- 
clusively, were  consigned  to  dark  corners  of  the  room  and  the 
workmen  allowed  to  huddle  together  at  one  long  bench.  Incom- 
ing and  outgoing  work  were  piled  indiscriminately  together. 
Production  lagged  so  during  the  day  that  overtime  was  neces- 
sary, on  the  part  of  the  day  workers,  almost  every  night,  and 
the  foremen  made  no  effort  to  put  a  stop  to  it  because  they,  too, 
were  being  paid  by  the  hour  and  not  very  generously  at  that,  so 
that  they  were  as  anxious  as  the  men  for  overtime,  to  eke  out 
their  small  wages. 

Finally,  the  light  was  extremely  poor,  from  the  lack  of  suffi- 
cient skylight  area  and  lighting  fixtures  and  the  clouds  of  dust 
from  the  grinding,  while  the  din  was  terrific. 

RECONSTRUCTING  A  WAGE-PAYMENT  SYSTEM 
IN  THE  FACE  OF  OPPOSITION 

A  WORSE  combination  of  conditions  could  scarcely  be  imag- 
ined. The  management  was  anxious  to  place  the  day  work- 
ers on  piecework  as  soon  as  possible,  but  not  knowing  where  or 
how  to  begin,  it  called  in  an  engineer.  He  made  a  detailed 
study  of  conditions.  It  was  nearly  a  year  before  any  new  piece 
prices  could  be  fixed  or  old  prices  adjusted.  When  it  was  at- 
tempted to  put  a  stop  to  day  men  doing  piece  men's  work,  the 
piece  men  walked  out  in  a  body.  A  few  days  later  all  thought 
better  of  it  and  wanted  to  come  back.  The  good  men  were  taken 
back  but  the  ringleaders  were  refused.  This  exhibition  of  firm- 
ness on  the  part  of  the  management  had  a  decidedly  wholesome 
effect,  and  from  that  time  on  little  trouble  was  experienced  in 
executing  the  reform. 

A  halt  was  called  on  men  putting  through  bad  pieces,  by  refus- 
ing to  pay  for  such.  It  was  also  laid  down  that  none  should 
receive  castings  upon  which  the  previous  operation  had  been  im- 
properly performed.  This  made  each  man  virtually  an  inspector 


PIECEWORK  135 


on  the  preceding,  showed  up  defective  castings  at  the  earliest 
moment,  and  greatly  facilitated  the  work  of  the  general  inspector. 

The  work  was  specialized  as  much  as  possible.  One  man  was 
given  all  one  kind  of  castings,  another  a  second,  and  so  on.  The 
day  workers  were  assigned  individual  benches  to  break  up  the 
huddling,  and  the  work  came  to  them  on  one  side  and  was  taken 
away  on  the  opposite,  moving  forward  all  the  time. 

Adjustable  benches  were  also  provided  for  the  grinders  and 
mechanical  handling  devices  rigged  up,  to  eliminate  the  heavy 
lifting  and  dragging  work,  and  to  enable  the  men  each  to  work 
at  the  best  height. 

A  routing  system  was  installed  whereby  the  workmen  could 
take  only  the  work  allotted  to  them,  and  a  ticket  in  a  clip  at 
the  machine  or  bench  of  each  one  was  the  means  of  informing 
him  what  job  to  do  next.  It  was  the  foreman's  business  to  see 
that  there  was  always  one  job,  at  least,  ahead,  and  to  remove 
and  sign  finished  tickets. 

Adequate  lighting  fixtures  and  a  dust-collecting  system  were 
also  installed.  Machines  were  relocated  so  as  to  permit  passing 
of  work  from  one  to  another  and  to  eliminate  zig-zagging  and 
back-tracking.  The  grinders  were  equipped  with  three-speed 
pulleys,  to  enable  the  stones  to  be  used  down  to  almost  nothing, 
and,  on  the  basis  of  tests  made  in  the  testing  department,  geared 
up  to  a  common  speed.  One  man  was  appointed  to  keep  the 
stones  trued  up  and  the  machines  in  repair. 

The  causes,  moreover,  of  excessive  grinding  were  investi- 
gated and  traced  back  to  the  foundry.  This  resulted  in  the  modi- 
fication of  some  patterns  and  the  improvement  of  foundry 
conditions,  also  a  considerable  stiffening  up  of  the  supervision 
and  inspection  of  the  molding  and  pouring. 

Finally,  after  a  number  of  months  of  steady  effort,  in  the  face 
of  the  most  trying  circumstances,  conditions  were  standardized 
to  the  point  where  it  was  possible  to  begin  setting  piece  prices. 
In  the  meantime,  the  room  had  been  entirely  reorganized.  The  in- 
competent foremen  were  changed  around — one  was  retained  as  an 
operational  boss,  another  made  an  inspector  and  two  reduced  to 
the  ranks.  Standard  instructions  were  prepared  for  the  new  fore- 
men, and  from  the  day-work  records,  average  unit  times  and 
costs  determined. 


136 


WAGE    PAYMENT 


With  this  past  performance  information  in  hand,  each  opera- 
tion was  taken  up  in  turn  and  analyzed  with  the  stop-watch. 
The  observer  watched  and  timed  an  operative  until  he  was  posi- 
tive he  had  a  lead  on  the  hest  'performances  and  that  each 
operation  was  being  performed  in  the  best  way.  When  he  was 
satisfied  the  workmen  understood  the  best  way,  and  that  he  was 
working  at  a  fairly  rapid  pace,  he  established  the  standard 
times  and  set  the  piece  prices. 

Each  price  was  so  set,  making  due  allowances  for  necessary 
interruptions  and  intervals  of  rest,  that  an  average  worker,  once 
he  had  become  skilled  in  the  operation,  could  earn  $2.50  to  $3.00 
per  day,  which  was  thirty  to  fifty  per  cent  in  advance  of  the  day 
rates  prevalent.  In  one  or  two  cases,  where  the  day  workers  had 


4000 

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3000 

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FIGURE  XIII:  In  an  emergency  which  demanded  larger  output,  posting  a  notice  guaranteeing  un- 
changed   piece  rates  and  providing  good  luncheons  for  the  employees  increased  production  in   a 
Philadelphia  hosiery  mill,  as  indicated  by  the  dotted  curve  in  this  chart.     The  solid  curve  shows 
former  output.     To  guarantee  the  workers  against  a  cut  is  all-important 

been  working  at  a  very  slow  pace,  it  was  necessary  to  nurse  them 
along  with  a  bonus  for  a  time,  until  they  got  used  to  working  at 
a  higher  rate  of  speed. 

In  every  case,  the  day  rate  was  guaranteed  as  a  minimum  un- 
til the  man  was  able  on  a  piece  basis  to  exceed  it ;  and  prices  set 
were  fully  guaranteed  for  a  year  with  the  understanding  that,  if 
any  marked  changes  were  made  in  machine  or  method,  reducing 
appreciably  the  work  on,  or  the  time  required  to  do  a  piece,  the 
prices  were  to  be  readjusted  accordingly. 

The  operational  bosses  were  put  on  a  salary  basis  and  paid 
enough  so  that  they  did  not  need  to  defer  to  pieceworkers  on 
the  score  of  their  earning  more.  The  reverse  condition  was  one 
reason  why  the  old  bosses  had  been  unable  to  control  the  piece- 
workers. 


PIECEWORK  137 


Moreover,  the  foremen  were  allowed  to  share  in  a  bonus  for 
decreasing  the  percentage  of  spoilage,  and  their  increase  in  pay 
and  continuity  in  service  was  made  contingent  on  their  showing 
a  progressive  reduction  in  the  indirect  labor  and  operating  ex- 
pense. The  fact  that  their  compensation  no  longer  depended 
upon  the  number  of  hours  worked,  made  them  all  pushers  for 
getting  the  work  out  within  regular  hours;  and  this  influence 
alone  was  sufficient  almost  immediately  to  cut  out  the  overtime. 

Under  the  old  management,  each  boss,  though  he  was  supposed 
to  instruct  and  inspect  principally,  spent  most  of  his  time  gawk- 
ing and  the  rest  in  checking  up  work.  This  condition  of  affairs 
was  completely  reversed.  A  checker  was  appointed  to  tend  to 
the  tallying  of  output  exclusively,  while  the  foreman  was  re- 
quired to  visit  each  man  in  turn  and  at  regular  intervals  through- 
out the  day — in  effect,  he  was  given  a  beat  to  patrol,  just  like 
a  policeman  or  a  sentry.  It  was  up  to  him  to  see  that  the  work 
was  done  properly.  As  he  inspected  each  piece,  he  placed  a  chalk 
mark  on  it.  The  checker  then  tallied  it  and  cancelled  the  check 
mark  as  he  did  so.  No  work  could  move  forward  until  the 
double  check  mark  was  on  it.  In  this  way,  the  control  and  credit 
for  output  was  simply  and  effectually  centered  in  the  operational 
foreman. 

Another  foreman — called  the  production  clerk — acted  as 
intermediary  between  the  planning  department  and  the  opera- 
tional foremen,  keeping  them  supplied  with  work-tickets  for  their 
men,  following  special  work  and  keeping  the  standard  instruc- 
tions. 

Another  foreman — the  room  inspector — was  made  responsible 
for  the  quality,  the  operational  foremen  and  checkers  working 
under  his  direction  in  this  respect.  No  general  foreman  was 
needed.  If  there  was  contention  between  the  operational  fore- 
men, the  appeal  was  to  the  production  superintendent. 

As  a  result  of  these  measures,  production  was  nearly  tripled 
per  man  and  costs  reduced  one-half.  Piece  prices  were  estab- 
lished that  are  there  to  stay,  and  as  they  are  guaranteed,  there  is 
nothing  to  prevent  the  men  from  putting  forth  their  best  efforts. 
There  is  almost  an  utter  absence  of  late  arrivals  and  early  quit- 
ters, as  is  so  often  the  habit  with  pieceworkers,  and  as  formerly 
was  the  case  here. 


138 


WAGE   PAYMENT 


The  management  credit  this  success  to  the  fact  that  the  prices 
are  fair  and  equitable  and  that  they  are  guaranteed.  The 
less  efficient  and  tractable  men  have  gradually  been  weeded  out, 
most  of  them  quitting  of  their  own-accord,  and  those  of  the  old 


FIGURE  XIV:  Out  of  the  experience  of  several  plants  in  getting  to  the  bottom  of  piecework 
trouble  comes  the  warning  that  success  depends  on  observing  the  fundamentals  of  fair  and  guaranteed 
rates,  specified  quality,  a  definite  task  and  steady  working  conditions.  More  than  any  other  one  thing, 
it  is  essential  to  guarantee  the  rate  for  a  definite  period  and  to  change  no  rate  without  conferring 
with  the  men.  When  this  warning  is  heeded,  trouble  usually  disappears 

force  that  remain  have  parted  with  their  former  listless  look. 

Here  is  one  case  where  piecework  both  failed  and  succeeded, 
where  almost  all  the  conditions  that  invite  a  failure  in  piece- 
work (Figure  XIV)  were  met  and  corrected.  Among  these  con- 
ditions one  of  the  most  common  is  the  effort  to  apply  piece  rates 
on  the  wrong  basis ;  on  the  pound  basis  instead  of  per  square  foot, 
as  often  in  metal-working  industries ;  on  the  board  foot  instead  of 
the  square  or  lineal  foot,  in  woodworking ;  on  the  lineal  foot  in- 
stead of  the  square  foot ;  or  by  weight  instead  of  volume. 

But  perhaps  the  most  frequent  complaint  urged  against  the 
piecework  system  is  that  under  it  quality  work  is  impossible. 
Nevertheless,  it  has  been  found  possible,  by  means  of  graduated 
piece  rates,  to  get  even  better  quality  (Figure  XV). 

One  manager  found  that  his  fastest  workers  were  always  his 


PIECEWORK 


139 


best  workers.  And  the  president  of  an  automobile  plant  pro- 
ducing a  remarkably  fine  car  for  the  price,  has  stated :  * '  Quan- 
tity production  gives  quality  of  output."  He  was  referring 
to  his  plant  as  a  whole.  But  is  his  statement  not  equally 
true  of  the  individual  worker?  There  is  a  certain  point 
where  the  two  curves — quantity  and  quality — coincide.  This 
coincidence  occurs  when  a  man  who  knows  how  to  do  a  thing 
becomes  so  interested  in  doing  it  that  he  loses  all  sense  of  self 
in  putting  forth  his  best.  This  attitude  of  mind  in  a  worker 
only  obtains  when  conditions  are  such  that  he  is  absolutely  un- 
hampered and  unharassed  in  his  work,  and  when  the  attitude 
of  management  is  such  as  to  instill  the  utmost  confidence.  Where 
such  relations  obtain,  each  worker  becomes  not  only  his  own 
speed  boss,  but  his  own  quality  boss  as  well. 

The  plan  followed  in  a  leather  goods  factory,  where,  in  cutting 
up  leather,  there  was,  under  day  work,  considerable  waste,  which 
under  ordinary  piecework  would  likely  have  increased  all  out  of 
bounds,  was  to  set  a  graduated  scale  of  piece  prices — the 
highest  for  the  lowest  percentage  of  waste;  and  vice  versa.  It 
was  not  long  before  automatically  everybody  was  earning  the 
maximum  rate  and  waste  was  diminished  to  a  degree  before 
believed  impossible. 

A  variation  from  the  ordinary  piecework  plan  is  "gang  piece- 


How  High  Rates  for  Quality  Piecework  Reduced  Waste 

| 

100%  of 
Pieces  Good 

99%  Good 

98%  Good 

97%  Good 

96%6ood 

95%  Good 

For  Each 
Extra  %  Loss 

i 

I 

i 

i 

i 

i 

i 

Rate  30c  Each 

Rate25e 

Rate22c 

Rate  20c 

Rate  19e 

RatelBc 

Rate  fc  Lower 

FIGURE  XV:    By  graduating  its  piece  rates  as  above  for  quality,  an  iron-working  plant  induced  onein 

ten  of  its  workers  to  make  a  perfect  score  and  nine  in  ten  to  make  over  95  per  cent  good  pieces  the 

first  mouth.     Within  six  months,  the  average  loss  fell  from  ten  to  less  than  two  per  cent.     Another 

manufacturer  reduced  loss  to  less  than  four  per  cent  by  a  similar  bonus  scale 

work,"  devised  to  fit  operations  where  two  or  more  men  work 
together.  Not  only  gangs  at  operations  like  shoveling,  but  crews 
at  machines  and  even  whole  departments  have  been  put  on  gang 
piecework.  In  the  print  room  in  a  large  print  works,  where 


140  WAGE  PAYMENT 


there  were  some  thirty  machines  in  operation  and  the  operators 
and  their  helpers  numbered  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  men, 
the  entire  room  was  put  on  such  a  basis.  The  price  was  fixed  on 
the  basis  of  the  average  output  f of*  the  past  year  in  thousands 
of  yards.  The  men  were  to  share  according  to  their  day  rates. 
For  every  per  cent  decrease  in  spoilage  they  were  to  receive  so 
much  extra  per  yard.  And  to  induce  the  head  operators  to  do 
with  as  few  helpers  as  possible,  each  was  to  receive  so  much 
per  yard  additional  for  every  dollar  of  helping  labor  saved. 

The  results  were  little  short  of  miraculous.  From  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  helpers,  the  number  was  reduced,  in  the  space 
of  a  few  weeks,  to  one  hundred,  and  by  the  end  of  the  year  to 
sixty.  Spoilage  sank  from  more  than  fifteen  per  cent  to  less 
than  five  per  cent.  Output  was  nearly  double.  And  the  earn- 
ings of  the  chief  operatives  and  those  of  their  helpers  that 
remained  went  up  nearly  a  half.  All  this  was  accomplished 
without  forcing  on  the  part  of  the  management  and  without 
arousing  any  antagonism.  Every  change  came  about  through 
the  initiative  of  the  men  themselves. 


xv  I 

MAKING  MEN  PARTNERS 
IN  THE  PROFITS 


TO  establish  the  employee's  loyalty,  to  secure  a  permanent 
force  of  workers  and  to  give  labor  the  same  interest  in 
the  welfare  of  the  firm  that  he  himself  has,  Henry  Ford  set 
aside  ten  million  dollars,  or  one-half  of  his  estimated  profits  for 
1914,  to  be  distributed  semi-monthly  among  his  twenty  thousand 
employees.  Other  employers  are  also  encouraging  profit-partici- 
pation by  the  workpeople  in  several  different  ways.  All  this  is 
an  attempt  to  find  a  method  that  will  be  a  substitute  for  or  will 
add  to  the  incentive  which  exists  under  prevailing  labor  condi- 
tions— the  fear  of  discharge. 

The  team  work  which  existed  between  employer  and  employees 
in  the  little  business  tends  to  break  down  with  the  expansion 
into  a  larger  business.  Friendship  for  and  loyalty  to  the  employer 
decline  and  the  "just  good  enough  to  hold  the  job"  spirit  per- 
meates the  business  enterprise.  Does  profit  sharing  meet  this 
difficulty  ?  Does  it  pay  in  terms  of  dollars  and  cents — and  what 
are  the  methods  where  it  has  proved  successful? 

Houghton  Mifflin  Company,  publishers,  Boston,  have  in  force 
one  of  the  oldest  profit-sharing  plans  in  existence.  In  explana- 
tion of  their  system,  Mr.  Mifflin  says : 

* '  Our  plan,  in  operation  since  1872,  is  very  simple.  We  main- 
tain a  savings  department  for  employees  at  the  Riverside  Press 
(Cambridge,  Massachusetts)  and  agree  to  pay  at  least  six  per 
cent,  but  not  more  than  ten  per  cent,  on  their  deposits.  The 
extra  per  cent  above  the  six  per  cent  guaranty  is  paid  only  on 
deposits  amounting  to  $100  and  not  exceeding  $1,000.  Though 
no  deposits  above  $1,000  are  accepted,  interest  may  accumulate 


142  WAGE   PAYMENT 


up  to  another  $600.  The  additional  per  cent  paid  varies  with  the 
profits  of  the  business  and  has  ranged  from  one-half  to  four 
per  cent.  The  depositors  number  about  one-third  of  our  eight 
hundred  and  eighty  employees. 

"Has  the  plan  been  worth  while?  Yes.  It  has  stimulated 
thrift  among  the  employees,  has  taught  many  of  them  the  secret 
of  saving  and  has  developed  a  sense  of  responsibility  on  the 
part  of  the  company  as  well  as  the  employee.  The  company, 
entrusted  with  the  savings  of  the  employees,  has  been  forced 
into  healthy  conservatism  in  its  undertakings.  The  employee, 
knowing  that  the  rate  of  interest  on  his  deposits  depended  on 
the  profits  of  the  business,  has  performed  his  work  more  zeal- 
ously. The  plan  has  paid,  but  I  would  hesitate  to  say  that  it 
could  be  successfully  applied  in  all  instances. " 

DANGERS  TO  AVOID  IN  ESTABLISHING 
PROFIT-SHARING  PLANS 

JPOURTEEN  years  after  the  introduction  of  the  Houghton 
Mifflin  Company  system,  the  N.  0.  Nelson  Manufacturing 
Company,  manufacturers  of  plumbing  fixtures,  St.  Louis,  Mis- 
souri, approached  the  problem  of  the  distribution  of  profits  in 
a  very  different  manner.  The  first  terms  were  that  after  allow- 
ing the  commercial  rate  of  interest  on  the  net  capital,  the 
remainder  was  divided  by  equal  percentage  on  the  capital  and 
the  wages  of  all  employees  who  had  served  the  company  for  as 
much  as  six  months  within  the  year.  Some  changes  in  the  plan 
were  made  later,  so  that  labor  received  a  larger  percentage  of  the 
profits  and  in  1904  the  customers  also  were  admitted  as  profit 
partners.  The  present  plan  provides  for  equal  dividends  on  wages 
and  gross  profits  on  customer's  purchases  after  capital  receives  six 
per  cent.  By  the  original  plan,  the  dividends  to  wages  varied 
from  ten  per  cent  down  to  four  per  cent,  and  with  the  present 
plan  the  dividend  to  wages  has  varied  from  ten  per  cent  to 
thirty  per  cent. 

Dividends  are  paid  in  the  stock  of  the  company  and  the 
employees  own  about  one-third,  the  customers  about  one-third, 
and  Mr.  Nelson  the  remainder.  About  one  and  one-quarter 
millions  capital  stock  has  been  issued.  There  is  also  a  surplus 


PROFIT   SHARING 


143 


of  about  fifty  per  cent.    The  town  of  Leclaire,  which  was  started 
in  1890  and  which  now  has  a  population  of  about  eight  hundred 
employees  and  other  people,  was  built  out  of  the  capital. 
A  suggestion  of  the  dangers  in  profit  sharing  which  the  em- 


I  Simplex  Wire  and 
n    Cable  Company 

£», 

[in  Cash  Premium  on  Savings  Deposited  with  Company 
j  67o  Guaranteed    10%  Maximum 
[Paid  Only  on  Deposits  of  $100-$1000 

I  Half  in  Cash 
[Half  Held  as  Benefit  and  Forfeit  Fund 

In  Cash  Semi-monthly 
Per  Cent  Is  Half  of  Year's  Profit  as  Estimated  in  Advance 
Age  and  Efficiency  Requirements 

"special  Stock  and  Dividends  on  Them 
Goes  Only  to  Principal  Employees  on  a  Basis  of  Salary 
and  Service 
Conditionally  Carries  Entire  Voting  Power  of  Corporation 

Houghton  Mifflin 
Company 

Predetermined 
Per  Cent  of 
Net  Profit 
Goes  tc  Labor  ' 

Samuel  Cabot 
me 

Profits 
Shared 
r     between 
Labor  and 
Capital 

Ford  Motor 
Company 

Dennison 

Manufacturing 
Company 

Same  Sum  to  Be 
Shared  over  Total 
Wages  as  Total 
Capital  Shall 
Receive 

In  Cash 
6%  First  Paid  oo  Capital 
Profits  Then  Halved  between  Capital  and  Labor 
Labor  Shares  Losses  Also  (Limited) 
Only  75%  of  Employees  Permitted  to  Share  Profits 

A.  W.  Burrltt 
Company 

Methods 
of  Profit 
Sharing  to 
Encourage 
Efficiency 

Farr  Alpaca 
Company 

In  Cash 
Same  Rate  as  on  Capital 

In  Regular  Stock 
Same  Rate  as  on  Capital 
Efficiency  a  Requirement  for  Profit  Sharing 
One  Director  Chosen  by  Stock-Holding  Employees 

Same  or  a 
Proportionate 
Dividend  on  Each 
Wage  Dollar  as 
Each  Dollar  of 
Capital  Shall 
Receive 

Boston 
Consolidated 
Gas  Company 

In  Regular  Stock 
After  5  Years'  Service  Worker  Receives  Profit  on  Hit 
Wages  at  Same  Rate  Capital  Is  Paid 
After  4  years,  75% 
•3-50% 
__«    2     -     25% 

In  Cash 
10%  First  Paid  on  Common  Stock 
35%  of  Dividend  Rate  above  10%  Divided  by  5  Is  Applied 
on  Wages  Earned  during  the  Preceding  Five  Years 

Brooklyn 
Edison  Electric 
Illuminating 
Company 

Eastman  Kodak 
Company 

Share  over  Wages 
a  Definite  Per  Cent 
on  Any  Dividend 
Voted  on  Capital 

R.  F.  Simmons 

CoMpany 

In  Cash 
Employees'  Share  Is  8-12%  of  Dividend  Voted  on  Capital 

In  Cash 
Employees'  Share  Is  6-10%  of  Dividend  Voted  on  Capital 
Special  Dividend  for  Employees  in  Service  ever  15  years 

Paid  in  Regular  Voting  Stock 
6%  First  Paid  on  Capital 
Remaining  Profits  so  Apportioned  that  Workers  Receive 
on  Wages  the  Same  Dividend  Rate  as  Customers  on 
the  Gross  Profit  on  Purchases 

•1     Bourne  Mills 

Profits 
Shared 
between 
Labor  and 

1 

N.  0.  Nelson 

Customers 
after  Capital 
and  Reserves 
Are  Paid  Up 

Company 

FIGURE  XVI:  Profit  sharing  calls  for  standard  wages  on  the  basis  of  what  the  employee  would 
otherwise  earn  and  an  advance  arrangement  for  distribution  of  profits  such  as  to  assure  the  worker 
that  no  advantage  will  be  taken  of  him  after  he  has  earned  the  extra  profit  for  his  employer.  Profit 
sharing  is  here  analyzed  according  to  its  principles,  illustrated  by  the  practice  of  the  companies  named. 
The  proposal  of  the  Ford  Motor  Company  to  rebate  to  purchasers  is  based  on  reaching  a  certain  gross 
sales  figure  rather  than  on  netting  ft  certain  profit 


144  WAGE  PAYMENT 


ployer  may  avoid  is  found  in  the  causes  for  the  foregoing  success. 
This  Mr.  Nelson  attributes  to  the  fact  that  the  terms  are  stated 
in  advance ;  that  the  plan  applies  equally  to  all  regular  em- 
ployees; that  it  is  free  from  restrictive  conditions;  that  it  is 
sufficiently  liberal  to  make  a  tangible  dividend  on  wages  and 
that  the  dividend  is  paid  in  stock. 

That  profit  sharing  also  may  be  successfully  applied  in  a 
concern  with  few  employees  is  illustrated  by  the  experience  of 
Samuel  Cabot,  chemical  manufacturer,  Boston.  In  1887  Mr. 
Cabot  began  sharing  profits  with  twenty-one  employees.  Today 
more  than  three  times  as  many  employees  are  on  the  profit- 
sharing  roll. 

" Every  man  who  enters  my  employ,"  says  Mr.  Cabot,  "is 
given  the  current  rate  of  wages  for  such  work.  If  he  desires  also 
to  participate  in  the  profit  sharing  he  is  required  to  sign  a  paper 
in  which  he  promises  to  do  his  wcrk  as  quickly  and  carefully  as 
possible,  remembering  that  the  greater  the  yield  the  larger  the 
profits,  and  to  give  me  sixty  days'  notice  before  leaving  me. 

""On  my  part,  I  promise  to  divide  at  the  expiration  of  each 
six  months  a  certain  fraction  of  the  profits  among  the  partici- 
pants, strictly  in  proportion  to  the  wages  of  each  during  that 
period.  This  sum  in  each  case  is  divided  into  two  equal  parts, 
one  of  which  is  given  in  cash  to  the  employee,  and  the  other 
deposited  in  a  savings  bank  by  me  as  his  trustee. 

"This  fund  in  the  bank  is  in  the  nature  of  an  insurance  on 
the  life  of  the  employee  and  is  given  over  with  interest  to  his 
executors  if  he  dies.  If  he  should  refuse  to  give  me  sixty  days' 
notice  on  leaving  me,  although  he  had  already  received  an  equal 
amount  in  cash  on  the  promise  to  give  me  such  notice,  the  money 
would  not  come  back  to  me,  but  would  simply  be  distributed 
among  the  other  participants  at  the  next  division.  The  same 
thing  is  true  in  case  of  his  discharge  for  cause. ' ' 

If  the  employee,  however,  resigns  while  he  is  in  good  standing, 
the  deposits  with  interest  are  payable  to  him  at  the  end  of  two 
years,  provided  he  has  not  sold  any  secret  obtained  during  his 
employment  at  the  Cabot  works.  Mr.  Cabot  may  lend  the  em- 
ployee money  upon  the  profit  fund  to  build  a  house. 

The  same  proportion  of  profit  has  been  paid  to  the  employees 
each  year,  and  while  the  first  payments  averaged  about  ten  per 


Accident  prevention  is  chiefly  education.      Safety  can  be  advertised  in  many  ways,  some  of  which  are 

evident  in  the  picture  at  the  top — bulletins  in  all  languages,  examples  of  defective  tools  that  mad  e 

trouble,  photographs  of  situations  that  peril  workmen.      Below   is   shown  a  shop  foreman's  office 

placed  and  constructed  for  convenience  and  to  give  the  executive  full  control 


is  shown  a  ward  at  the  Worcester  Corset  Company's  plant 


PROFIT  SHARING 


147 


cent  upon  wages,  they  have  increased  gradually  until  in  some 
years  they  have  exceeded  twenty  per  cent.  The  average  wages 
have  also  advanced  as  the  efficiency  and  skill  have  increased. 

"If  we  can  draw  any  inferences  from  these  facts,"  says  Mr. 
Cabot,  "it  is  that  inasmuch  as  my  profit  compared  to  the  wages 
paid  has  increased,  the  efficiency  of  my  workmen  has  improved. ' ' 


ESTIMATED  F 


PAYROLL 
ACTUAL  PAYROLL 
PER  CENT  DIVIDEND 

MINIMUM  DIVIDEND  (WOMEN 


MINIMUM  DIVIDEND  (MEN) 
MAXIMUM  DIVIDEND 
PRELIMINARY  LIST  OF  NAME 
ACTUAL?  OFIT  SHARER 


&># 


FIGURE  XVII:  This  is  a  graphic  history  of  ten  years  of  profit  sharing  at  the  Simplex  Wire  & 
Cable  Company.  Lines  1  and  2  show  how  the  total  payroll  of  the  actual  profit  sharers  compares  in 
dollars  with  the  payroll  estimated  at  the  beginning  of  the  profit-sharing  period,  the  total  of  the  then 
rate  of  the  weekly  wages  of  those  placed  on  the  preliminary  list  multiplied  by  52;  line  3  indicates 
the  per  cent  of  dividend  paid  to  profit-sharing  employees  in  proportion  to  their  wages;  lines  4  to  6 
give  the  dividend  in  dollars;  lines  7  and  8  show  how  the  conditions  laid  down  for  profit  sharing  re- 
duced the  preliminary  list;  all  other  lines  refer  to  the  number  of  employees  sharing  in  profits 

The  Bourne  Mills,  cotton  manufactory,  of  Fall  River,  Mas- 
sachusetts, is  another  firm  which  has  led  the  way  in  the  profit- 
sharing  movement  in  this  country.  Semi-annually  since  July  lr 
1889,  it  has  admitted  its  employees  to  a  share  of  the  profits. 

Every  employee  who  has  served  six  months  and  worked  faith- 
fully during  that  time  receives  a  share  of  the  profits  in  propor- 
tion to  the  dividend  paid  to  the  stockholders.  A  sum  amount- 


148  WAGE  PAYMENT 


ing  to  not  less  than  six  per  cent  nor  more  than  ten  per  cent  of 
the  dividend  on  capital  is  divided  by  the  total  wages  which  the 
employees  earn  in  six  months.  Eacjj  workman  eligible  to  partici- 
pate in  the  profits  gets  a  share  based  on  the  proportion  which 
his  wages  bear  to  the  total  amount  paid  out  in  wages  to  all 
employees.  The  dividend  has  ranged  from  two  to  seven  per 
cent  on  wages  annually.  The  semi-annual  dividend  in  July, 
1904,  amounted  to  four  per  cent.  The  increase  was  due  to  the 
fact  that  several  of  the  employees  dropped  out  on  account 
of  the  weavers'  strike.  Approximately  ten  per  cent  of  the  total 
profits  has  been  given  to  labor.  A  special  dividend  of  forty  per 
cent  of  the  original  amount  set  aside  for  employees  is  paid  to 
those  who  have  been  in  the  employ  of  the  company  continuously 
over  fifteen  years.  The  mills  now  have  716  hands  on  their  pay* 
roll,  576  of  whom  shared  in  the  profits  in  1913. 

LAYING  DOWN  A  SOUND  FOUNDATION  FOR  A 
PROFIT-SHARING  SCHEME 

OOUB  different  variations  of  profit  sharing  tested  by  years  of 
experience  and  found  successful  have  been  outlined  above. 
"While  these  plans  differ  in  many  particulars,  there  are  certain 
fundamentals  which  are  evident  in  all — the  outlines  upon  which 
any  scheme  of  profit  sharing  may  be  reared. 

In  the  first  place,  the  employers  do  the  unexpected.  The  share 
to  be  distributed  is  determined  not  at  the  end  of  the  profit-shar- 
ing period  but  in  advance.  The  per  cent  of  profit  shared  need 
not  be  announced.  The  employee  can  tell  whether  the  plan 
pays  by  the  amount  of  his  dividends  which  he  receives  from  year 
to  year. 

Figure  XVI  shows  the  principal  forms  of  profit  sharing.  They 
can  readily  be  adapted  to  particular  conditions.  The  Ford 
plan  is  a  profit-sharing  system  only  in  so  far  as  the  amount 
to  be  distributed  to  the  employees  as  their  share  of  the  profits 
is  a  fixed  per  cent  of  the  estimated  profits,  and  hence  varies 
with  the  efficiency  of  the  employees  from  year  to  year.  Gener- 
ally the  profit-sharing  firms  divide  the  labor  share  of  the  profits 
among  the  employees  in  the  proportion  which  the  wage  of  each 
employee  bears  to  the  total  wages  paid. 


PROFIT  SHARING  149 


There  is  sometimes  an  inclination  to  consider  the  wage  divi- 
dend a  gift  to  employees.  The  foregoing  plans,  however,  were 
introduced  with  a  definite  insistence  on  the  thought  that  the 
extra  remuneration  must  be  earned.  Profit  sharing  is  not  char- 
ity. Its  economic  justification  lies  in  the  fact  that  the  employee 
applies  himself  more  diligently;  exercises  the  greatest  care  in 
the  use  of  tools,  supplies  and  materials;  increases  the  output 
directly  through  his  own  efforts  and  indirectly  through  encour- 
aging group  efficiency  among  the  other  workers;  and  discovers 
new  sources  of  profit. 

Furthermore,  the  line  of  least  resistance  dictates  stationary 
wages.  In  the  plans  examined,  however,  the  fact  that  the  em- 
ployees' share  of  the  profits  did  not  become  a  substitute  for  an 
increase  in  wages  was  emphasized. 

In  short,  profit  sharing  under  which  the  wage  earner  receives 
in  addition  to  standard  wages  a  share  of  the  profits  determined 
in  advance,  promises  to  meet  with  success.  Yet  profit  sharing 
has  not  earned  unqualified  approval.  Though  many  employers 
have  found  the  system  profitable,  others  have  reached  an  adverse 
conclusion.  Many  of  the  failures,  however,  have  been  due  to 
brevity  of  trial.  Often  at  least  six  or  eight  years  are  necessary; 
for  a  thorough  test  of  profit  sharing.  The  plan  must  win  the 
confidence  of  the  employee  if  it  is  to  be  a  success  (Figure 
XVII). 

Nor  is  profit  sharing  applicable  in  all  instances.  No  direct 
financial  return  can  be  expected  by  those  firms  whose  employees 
are  already  working  at  their  maximum  efficiency.  On  the  other 
hand,  conditions  are  favorable  for  profit  sharing  in  those  estab- 
lishments in  which  the  profit  is  considerably  and  directly  in- 
fluenced by  the  manner  in  which  the  employees  do  their  work; 
where  the  greater  fidelity  and  increased  efforts  of  the  employees 
continue  after  the  initial  impetus  which  the  variation  in  the 
wage  system  awakens  has  passed ;  where  the  employer  regularly 
gives  them  an  appreciable  share  of  the  accruing  gains;  and 
where  the  experience  of  successful  firms  is  followed.  The  degree 
of  success  will  vary  in  a  large  measure  with  the  personality  of 
the  employer.  If  he  is  able  and  high-minded,  unusual  results 
may  be  accomplished. 


XVI 

WINNING  MEN  TO  A  NEW 
WAGE  PLAN 


SHOP  habits  are  flywheels  on  methods.    A  too  sudden  devia- 
tion from  the  usual  may  bring  a  crash.    Changes  from  day 
work  to  piece  or  premium  rates  and  from  contract  to  direct 
payment  are  among  the  most  difficult  tests  of  managership. 
How  to  go  about  such  a  shift  when  the  necessity  arises,  and 
persuade  the  men  to  change  their  minds  as  well  as  their  methods 
is  strikingly  shown  by  the  two-fold  experience  of  a  plant  where  the 
transitions  respectively  from  day  work  to  piece  rates  and  from 
contract  payment  to  gang  piecework  have  been  handled  suc- 
cessfully in  the  face  of  extraordinary  difficulties. 

The  plant  was  a  New  England  copper-alloy  mill.  Upon  the 
death  of  the  old  man  of  the  business,  several  superintendents  had 
been  tried  in  his  place,  but  none  had  been  able  to  bring  all  minds 
into  alignment  and  common  purpose.  To  solve  the  situation,  effi- 
ciency engineers  had  finally  been  called  in. 

From  the  outset  the  greatest  opposition  confronted  the 
engineers.  By  the  workmen  they  were  regarded  with  sullen 
hostility  and  by  the  foreman  with  skepticism  and  reluctant 
cooperation.  Information  was  exceedingly  hard  to  get  and  the 
initial  efforts  made  to  secure  reliable  statistics  everywhere  met 
determined  opposition.  Realizing  the  value  of  an  object- 
lesson,  the  engineers  finally  won  by  concentrating  on  and  chang- 
ing the  payment  method  for  one  operation  which  lent  itself 
peculiarly  to  special  study  because  it  was  not  directly  depend- 
ent upon  any  other  part  of  the  process. 

This  was  the  operation  known  in  the  shop  as  " cabbaging" 


CHANGING   THE   WAGE  PLAN 151 

and  consists  in  making  up  into  closely  compacted  cylinders,  by 
the  aid  of  a  hydraulic  press,  the  tangled  and  matted  scrap 
accumulated  in  the  plant  and  bought  back  from  customers. 
Each  cylinder  weighs  twenty-five  to  thirty  pounds  and  is  of  a 
size  and  shape  neatly  to  fit  into  a  crucible  for  remelting. 

A  gang  of  three  men,  with  a  working  overseer,  was  engaged 
in  this  work.  They  worked  leisurely,  let  the  scrap  pile  up 
around  them  and  spread  a  behind-hand  tendency  throughout 
the  mill. 

A  start  was  made  by  having  the  cabbages  regularly  weighed 
and  recorded.  For  twelve  weeks  there  was  no  further  attempt 
to  right  conditions,  except  to  make  a  few  physical  changes,  and 
to  arrange  for  the  systematic  removal  and  weighing  of  each 
day's  production  by  independent  forces. 

Some  time  studies  were  also  made  and  enormous  opportunities 
revealed  for  eliminating  lost  time  and  motion.  But  the  work- 
men gave  no  whole-hearted  conformance  to  the  resulting  instruc- 
tions. 

The  twelve  weeks'  records  showed  an  average  weekly  pro- 
duction of  23,500  pounds.  The  cost  per  pound,  on  the  basis  of 
three  men  at  a  dollar  and  a  half  a  day,  figured  eleven  cents; 
including  the  supervisor,  at  two  dollars  a  day,  the  cost  was 
seventeen  cents.  Time  study  indicated  that  a  production  of 
fifty  thousand  pounds  a  week  easily  was  possible  and  that  a 
fair  piece  price  for  the  work,  on  the  basis  of  four  men,  would 
be  ten  cents  a  hundred  pounds  and  seven  cents  a  hundred  count- 
ing only  the  three  men  actually  engaged  in  operating  the  ma- 
chine. A  price  of  eleven  cents  was  fixed,  however,  and  the  men 
were  called  into  the  superintendent's  office  and  the  matter 
explained  to  them.  They  were  assured  that  the  price  was  based 
upon  their  ability  to  earn  a  dollar  seventy-five  cents  a  day  if 
they  worked  faithfully,  and  that  two  dollars  or  more  was  entirely 
possible.  Their  previous  day  wage  was  guaranteed  to  them  as 
a  minimum.  On  this  basis  they  announced  their  willingness  to 
go  ahead. 

At  the  end  of  the  first  week  on  piecework  the  production 
jumped  to  39,400  pounds.  The  men,  all  of  them,  had  worked 
with  a  will  and  a  vim  and  did  their  honest  best,  but  to  keep  up 
heart  constant  sympathetic  attention  was  required  from  the 


WAGE  PAYMENT 


efficiency  engineer.  The  rest  of  the  shop  to  a  man  were  hostile  and 
tried  at  every  opportunity  to  discourage  the  beginning  piece- 
workers. 

At  eleven  cents  a  hundred  pounds  the  total  pay  of  the  gang 
for  the  first  week  was  $43.34.  This  divided  in  the  ratio  of  their 
day  rating  gave  to  each  of  the  dollar-and-a-half  men  an  even 
ten  dollars,  or  one  dollar  in  excess  of  their  former  weekly  earn- 
ings, and  to  the  two-dollar  overseer  $13.33,  or  $1.33  in  excess  of 
his  usual  pay.  So  on  the  very  first  trial  the  new  plan  seemingly 
was  a  success. 

But  the  men  were  not  satisfied.  They  had  expected  to  earn 
at  least  $1.75  a  day,  or  $10.50  for  the  week,  and  Monday  morn- 
ing found  them  in  the  superintendent's  office  in  a  rebellious 
mood.  Their  complaint  was  not  that  the  price  was  too  low,  but 
that  the  working  overseer  was  getting  a  share  of  the  proceeds 
to  which  they  felt  he  was  not  entitled,  and  they  refused  to  go 
back  to  work  unless  he  were  dissociated  from  the  gang;  all  of 
which  is  interesting  as  it  shows  how  gang  piecework  operates 
automatically  to  eliminate  loafers  and  useless  supervision. 

When  the  overseer  was  directed  to  occupy  himself  with  the 
supply  and  removal  of  the  scrap,  however,  and  the  men  found 
that,  by  the  exclusion  of  his  wages,  the  rate  was  lowered  to  eight 
cents  per  hundred  pounds,  it  took  considerable  argument  to  get 
them  back  to  work. 

The  second  week  they  worked  with  manifestly  less  spirit  than 
before,  and  produced  only  30,800  pounds,  a  decrease  of  22%. 
Their  total  earnings,  on  the  basis  of  eight  cents  a  hundred,  thus, 
were  $24.64,  or  only  $8.21  each.  By  the  terms  of  the  agreement 
each  received  nine  dollars — his  regular  weekly  wage.  They 
were  shown  that  if  they  had  maintained  their  first  week's  pro- 
duction, they  each  would  have  earned  $10.53,  so  that  actually 
their  piece  rate  had  been  raised. 

Output  the  third  week  rose  to  thirty-five  thousand  pounds. 
This  was  still  short  of  the  first  week's  record,  but  better  by  13.6 
per  cent  than  in  the  second  week.  Their  individual  pay  was  $9.33, 
or  only  thirty-three  cents  above  the  ordinary  amount. 

Upon  receipt  of  their  pay  envelopes,  without  further  parley 
the  gang  struck  and  one  of  them  the  same  night  packed  up  and 


CHANGING  THE   WAGE  PLAN 


153 


left  town.  The  other  two  were  persuaded  by  the  engineer  to 
return.  So  the  fourth  week  started  with  two  old  men  and  one 
new  man  and  everything  went  smoothly.  The  production  was 
only  slightly  greater  than  the  preceding  week,  or  35,200  pounds, 
but  this  was  chiefly  due  to  the  inexperience  of  the  new  man. 


•—  gzr:  jjizr-orrr  ~-rrr-2:rr: »: — 3- 


Increase  in  Wage 
3  Cabbagers 
Hour 


2S_  ^rH —  12  Weeks  Day  Work  Average  Total  Cost 
S^  =(Labor  plus  Burden  at  50c  an  Hour)  27.2c  a  10 


Saving  I2.1c  a  100  Ibs.  or  44.57,. 


2       34       5       6       7       8      9      10     11     12     13     14     IS     16     17     18     19     20     21     22    23     24 
Time  in  Weeks 


FIGURE  XVIII:    A  three-fold  analysis  is  here  given  of  the  reorganization  work  by  which  efficiency 

men  put  the  cabbaging  gang  in  a  copper  mill  on  piecework.   Beginning  with  the  twelfth  week,  the 

fluctuation  of  production  (at  the  top),  of  individual  pay  and  of  costs  are  traced  in  detail  to  the  point 

where  the  change  became  established 

The  superintendent  was  averse  to  taking  the  strikers  back, 
but  the  engineer  insisted  that  their  rebellion  was  due  to  misun- 
derstanding more  than  anything  else  and  that  real  victory,  so 
far  as  the  effect  on  the  shop  opinion  was  concerned,  lay  in  mak- 
ing the  scheme  a  success  with  the  original  men. 

The  fifth  week,  contrary  to  expectations,  production,  instead 
of  increasing,  sank  slightly,  to  34,450  pounds.  The  superin- 
tendent proposed  raising  the  piece  price.  "It  is  too  low/'  he 


154  WAGE  PAYMENT 


had  argued  from  the  start,  and  now  he  felt  sure  of  it.  The 
engineer,  however,  with  entire  faith  in  his  time  studies,  refused 
to  consent  to  a  change.  But  realizing  that  a  crisis  had  heen 
reached,  he  ordered  an  arbitrary  bonus  of  one  dollar  each  to  be 
given  the  men. 

This  acted  like  a  tonic.  But  adverse  conditions  made  the 
bonus  again  necessary  and  only  in  the  seventh  week  did  results 
begin  to  show.  Production  ran  up  to  forty  thousand  pounds,  a 
new  high  mark,  and  the  earnings  of  the  three,  without  any  gift, 
amounted  to  ten  dollars  and  seventy  cents,  which  was  greater 
by  forty  cents  than  the  highest  preceding  pay. 

During  this  week  the  leader  of  the  gang  came  to  the  engineer 
and  said  they  wanted  to  weigh  their  own  cabbages.  Given  every 
assistance  in  so  doing,  a  day  or  two  convinced  them  that  the 
time  so  spent  was  wasted.  They  were  at  last  satisfied  that  they 
were  being  given  a  square  deal. 

Production  inevitably  showed  a  substantial  increase  each 
week  ^hereafter  (Figure  XVIII),  and  by  the  end  of  the  twelfth 
week  it  had  attained  the  rare  good  mark  of  fifty-two  thousand 
pounds,  or  more  than  twice  the  average  weekly  output  on  the 
old  day  basis.  This  was  close  to  the  standard  predetermined 
by  the  engineer,  and  the  correctness  thereof  was  demonstrated 
by  the  fact  that  this  level  was  maintained  permanently.  Indi- 
vidual earnings  the  twelfth  week  were  $13.87  each,  or  $2.32  a  day. 
Thus  their  fondest  expectations  of  two  dollars  a  day  were  not 
only  realized  but  considerably  exceeded;  and  a  leverage  was 
secured  upon  the  confidence  of  the  entire  force  in  the  efficiency 
and  piecework  program. 

HOW  A  BRASS  MILL  OBTAINED  "A  FAIR  DAY'S 
WORK  FOR  A  FAIR  DAY'S  PAY" 

OST  of  the  departments  in  this  plant  were  still  on  straight 
day  work  after  thirty  years'  operation.  A  few  had  been 
put  on  piecework.  But  the  casting  work,  which  it  had  not 
been  thought  practicable  to  handle  on  either  a  day  or  a  piece- 
work basis,  had  been  contracted  out.  And  the  contractors  were 
handling  their  work  in  a  manner  which  gave  little  cause  for  com- 
plaint. The  fact  that  the  management  was  paying  them  a  price 
for  casting  considerably  in  advance  of  what  other  mills  in  the 


CHANGING  THE   WAGE  PLAN 155 

valley  were  paying  for  the  same  work  was  for  a  long  time  over- 
looked on  the  score  of  superior  quality. 

Singularly  enough,  however,  as  years  went  on,  the  trade  showed 
less  and  less  appreciation  for  the  reputed  superior  quality  of  this 
mill's  product;  and  the  management  was  forced  to  acknowledge 
that  it  was  paying  too  much  for  its  casting.  How  to  cut  the  price 
without  offending  the  contractors  and  without  endangering  the 
quality  became  a  problem  which  caused  the  manager  finally  to 
call  in  an  efficiency  engineer. 

"If  we  were  rigged  up  here  like  some  of  the  shops  we  com- 
pete with,  we  would  be  able  to  turn  out  twice  as  many  castings 
in  the  same  time,  and  better  quality  at  that,"  the  touchy  head 
caster  admitted,  after  the  engineer  had  approached  him  tactfully. 

1  'Well,  I'll  see  what  the  management  is  willing  to  do  about  it," 
said  the  engineer.  "  First,  however,  with  your  recommendations 
in  mind,  I  am  going  to  prepare  a  plan  and  I  want  you  to  go 
all  over  it  with  me  before  I  submit  it  to  the  'old  man.'  " 

A  plan  for  modernizing  the  castings  shop  was  duly  prepared 
with  the  help  of  the  caster,  submitted  to  the  management,  ap- 
proved, and  put  through.  Production,  naturally  enough,  in- 
creased. No  longer  was  the  mill  kept  waiting  for  metal.  The 
casters  began  to  finish  their  shifts  ten,  twenty,  thirty,  then  a  full 
sixty  minutes  earlier  than  heretofore. 

In  the  meantime  the  engineer  had  installed  a  scale  in  the 
passageway  between  the  casting  shops  and  the  rolling  mill,  and 
was  having  every  truck  load  of  metal  weighed  as  it  went  through. 
Here  he  met  his  first  opposition.  In  order  to  get  weights  that 
were  reliable  and  useful  for  the  purpose  he  had  in  mind,  it  was 
necessary  for  the  bars  to  be  piled  on  the  trucks  in  certain  classi- 
fications. The  casters  had  been  in  the  habit  of  piling  them  on 
haphazard.  Shortly,  however,  he  gained  his  point,  but  co- 
operation was  reluctantly  given,  for  the  casters  felt  that  some- 
thing was  in  the  wind. 

This  data  he  had  the  cost  department  regularly  compile  by 
pay-periods,  thrown  against  the  money  paid  the  casters  for  the 
work  represented,  so  that  a  cost  per  pound  of  good  casting  (de- 
ducting for  gates  and  bad  bars)  was  brought  out.  Great  irregu- 
larity was  disclosed  in  the  cost  of  castings  per  pound  by  different 
casters  and  by  the  same  casters  at  different  times.  But  one  con- 


156  WAGE  PAYMENT 


elusion  was  possible;  namely,  that  the  management,  in  paying 
for  its  casting  work  by  the  pot  (or  crucible),  rather  than  by 
the  pound  of  good  casting,  was  regularly  defrauding  itself  out 
of  hundreds  of  dollars.  This  was  because  there  was  such  a  great 
variation  in  the  size  of  molds. 

The  engineer  saw  his  opportunity  in  this  situation.  His  first 
step  was  to  calibrate  the  crucibles.  This  gave  him  his  maximum 
volume.  His  next  step  was  to  determine  the  specific  gravities 
of  the  various  principal  alloys  of  brass  regularly  melted  here. 
He  corrected  his  figures  by  test  to  allow  for  shrinkage  in  pour- 
ing and  then  proceeded  to  standardize  the  various  molds  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  capacity  of  the  crucibles.  Some  he  found  he 
could  lengthen  only  an  inch,  others,  two  or  three  inches;  still 
others  half  a  foot  or  more.  The  figures  were  so  attractive  that 
the  head  caster  could  only  agree  to  the  changes. 

When  the  new  molds  were  installed  the  benefit  showed  im- 
mediately in  the  unit  costs,  which  on  the  whole,  of  course,  now 
averaged  considerably  lower,  to  the  management's  clear  gain. 
Also  the  irregularities  were  considerably  smoothed  out,  and  what 
remained  pointed  the  way  unmistakably  to  the  need  for  a  read- 
justment of  prices  all  along  the  line. 

Before  passing  any  snap  judgment,  however,  on  the  indica- 
tions of  the  irregularities,  the  engineer  proceeded  to  have  some 
time  studies  made  as  to  the  times  required  to  melt  different  alloys. 
As  he  had  surmised,  some  alloys,  which  had  higher  melting  points 
than  others,  did  require  a  longer  time  to  melt;  and  some,  too, 
were  much  more  difficult  to  handle  than  others,  requiring  more 
skill  and  pains,  hence  more  time.  Nevertheless,  many  of  the 
irregularities  pointed  to  unwarranted  inequalities  in  the  pricing. 

With  his  time  studies  as  a  basis,  therefore,  he  proceeded  to 
draw  up  a  new  scale  of  prices,  based  not  on  the  pot  as  were  the 
old  ones,  but  on  the  pound  of  good  metal  cast;  and  with  this 
information  in  hand  he  was  ready  to  take  the  final  step,  which 
was  to  do  away  with  the  contract  system  and  place  the  entire 
casting  shops  on  a  gang  piecework  basis. 

He  had  now  reached  the  crisis  in  his  development  work.  A 
false  move  at  this  juncture  he  knew  would  be  fatal.  Things 
were  working,  however,  to  aid  him.  He  had  been  busy  the  while 
making  friends  with  all  the  boys  in  the  shop,  and  some  of  the 


CHANGING   THE   WAGE  PLAN 


157 


under-casters,  who  were  being  paid  on  a  piece  basis  by  the  head 
casters,  he  found  were  much  disgruntled  with  conditions.  They 
resented  a  middleman  between  them  and  the  management,  who 
was  creaming  off  the  profit  on  their  production.  Several  of 
these  under-casters,  the  engineer  found,  too,  were  fully  as  ex- 


tti  JUdid  t* 
Man's  Wagtj 
undtr  Fleet 


J3J3   )     AdiltiM  :        JL39      ,     >.'.'iittion  .        SU53      : 


Pome! 

$** 

jiio 


$6.8}  $4.14  $3.44          $2.78         $2.78      $2.07 


FIGURE  XIX:    The  total  shaded  area  represents  one  day's  piecework  pay  of  the  gang  of  casters 

who  were  put  on  gang  piecework  in  a  brass  mill  as  described  in  the  text.     Each  oblong  represents 

by  ita  area  the  day  wage,  or  bonus  proportional  to  that  wage,  of  one  man,  and  the  two  shaded  areas 

show  graphically  the  ratio  of  total  bonus  to  total  wage 

pert  as  the  men  under  whom  they  worked.  The  one  head  caster, 
with  whom  he  had  had  so  many  dealings,  however,  he  felt  was  too 
valuable  a  man  to  lose.  Just  such  a  man  as  he  was  needed  to 
take  general  supervision  of  the  three  casting  shops.  He  there- 
fore had  this  man  called  into  conference  with  the  manager.  The 
new  plan  of  gang  piecework  based  on  the  pound  of  good  castings, 
with  his  own  promotion  under  a  salary  and  a  bonus  for  depart- 
ment economies,  was  tactfully  outlined  to  the  caster,  who  at 
length  agreed. 

Having  won  the  chief  possible  contender  over  to  its  side, 
the  management  had  little  difficulty  in  winning  over  the  rest  of 
the  head  casters  and  the  men  under  them  to  the  new  plan.  Not 
one  quit.  Consequently,  the  final  readjustment  was  accomplished 
quickly  and  smoothly.  The  scheme  of  payment  was  to  divide 
the  earnings  of  the  gang  pro  rata  their  former  wages  (Figure 
XIX). 

And  as  it  actually  worked  out,  although  the  piece  prices  set 


158  WAGE   PAYMENT 


were  on  the  average  not  more  than  half  the  unit  costs  on  the  old 
basis,  even  after  the  molds  had  been  changed,  so  greatly  was 
production  stimulated  by  the  new  arrangement  and  so  thoroughly 
was  the  " water "  squeezed  out,  tftat  the  men's  earnings  on  the 
whole  averaged  in  proportion  one-fourth  to  one-third  higher, 
with  a  shorter  day,  and  better  working  conditions.  The  gain  to 
the  management  was  much  greater,  of  course.  ' 

And  so  it  is  in  many  instances.  Outwardly  the  chief  problem 
generally  seems  to  be  one  of  wages.  The  management  can  only 
think  of  reducing  wages.  The  workmen,  whose  standard  of 
wages  in  all  probability  has  by  no  means  kept  pace  with  the  in- 
creasing cost  of  living,  are  looking  for  an  increase,  not  a  decrease 
in  wages.  But  the  real  problem  is  not  a  matter  of  mere  wages 
but  of  production  and  evolving  a  payment  system  which  insures 
a  "fair  day's  work  for  a  fair  day's  pay." 


XVII 

TIMEKEEPING  AND  PAYROLL 
METHODS 


WORKMEN  in  a  store  fixtures  factory,  as  they  reach  their 
benches  morning  and  noon,  press  electric  buttons  which 
indicate  upon  an  annunciator  in  the  timekeeper's  office 
that  numbers  53,  59,  62  and  so  on  are  beginning  work.  The  time- 
keeper or  his  assistant  records  the  number  and  time.  When  an 
operator  finishes  a  job,  he  again  presses  the  nearby  button  and 
marks  the  number  of  the  job  on  a  slate  hanging  above  his  bench. 
The  assistant  timekeeper  makes  occasional  rounds  and  takes  off 
the  numbers. 

In  a  gown  alteration  shop,  the  telephone  takes  the  place  of  the 
electric  button  and  timekeeper's  trips.  From  each  department 
there  is  telephoned  an  immediate  report  when  any  worker 
changes  jobs. 

The  tendency  in  timekeeping  systems,  as  well  indicated  in 
these  advanced  methods,  is  to  get  rid  of  the  workman's  pencil 
and  so  to  simplify  his  part  of  the  record  keeping,  whether  by 
time-clocks,  foremen's  punches,  time  books,  checks  or  the  electric 
systems  mentioned,  as  to  minimize  unproductive  time.  This 
chapter  will  discuss  several — but  not  all — timekeeping  systems. 

Timekeeping  has  three  objects:  (1)  to  make  sure  that  labor  is 
being  applied  to  the  investment  in  capital  and  in  overhead  as 
nearly  full  time  as  possible;  (2)  to  determine  the  earnings  of 
the  workman  and  give  a  check  upon  the  value  he  delivers;  (3)  to 
furnish  a  basis  for  labor  costs.  Every  efficient  time  system  must, 
therefore,  determine  the  wage  due  by  checking  time  worked  and 
work  delivered;  permit  quick  and  accurate  calculation  of  the 
payroll,  get  the  money  to  the  men  directly,  and  leave  the  essen- 


160  WAGE  PAYMENT 


tial  cost  and  financial  records.  Loose  methods  must  be  avoided, 
so  that  workmen  will  not  be  tempted  to  "beat  the  clock." 

Rightly  placed  and  used,  the  time-clock  has  proved  effective 
in  checking  on  attendance  and  keeping  down  tardiness.  In  a 
small  specialty  factory,  the  time-clock  is  placed  in  the  front 
of  the  office  to  one  side  of  the  shop  entrance.  Qn  either  side  is 
a  filing  case  for  the  time  cards.  En  route  to  their  work,  the 
men  take  their  cards  from  one  case,  stamp  the  time  at  the  clock 
and  deposit  them  in  the  second  case.  A  similar  operation  takes 
place  going  and  coming  at  noon  and  at  night.  The  men  also 
fill  out  work  tickets  indicating  the  time  put  on  each  job.  These 
tickets  the  timekeeper,  sitting  in  an  office  facing  the  clock,  hands 
to  the  men  as  they  pass.  The  foreman  assigns  the  jobs  and 
O.  K.'s  the  slips  as  each  task  is  completed.  In  the  evening  the 
men  on  passing  out  return  their  slips  to  the  timekeeper,  who 
checks  them  with  the  clock  cards  to  prevent  "padding."  Each 
pay  day  the  used  cards  are  gathered  and  new  ones  issued. 

In  several  large  factories,  the  various  time-clocks  are  electric- 
ally regulated  by  a  master  clock  located  in  an  office  away  from 
the  dust,  dirt  and  vibration  of  the  shops.  At  strategic  points, 
time  stamps  regulated  by  this  clock  are  conveniently  located 
for  the  use  of  workmen  in  stamping  their  work  tickets  through- 
out the  day.  Another  use  of  the  time-clock  is  to  place  it  on  the 
shop  door.  Each  employee  carries  an  individual  key  which  re- 
cords his  entrance  time. 

CHECK  SYSTEMS  AND  TIME  CARDS  THAT  SHOW  ATTENDANCE 
AND  TIME  LOST  IN  TARDINESS 

ASS  checks  of  many  sorts  have  proved  satisfactory  in  various 
plants.  With  the  Michigan  Stove  Company,  each  workman 
has  a  brass  check  bearing  his  number.  As  he  enters,  he  takes  his 
check  from  a  rack  alongside  the  superintendent's  office.  Passing 
to  his  department,  he  hangs  his  check  on  another  rack,  which  is 
provided  with  a  glass  panelled  door  and  a  spring  lock.  Promptly 
at  five  minutes  past  the  hour  the  department  racks  are  locked. 
The  foreman  can  then  see  the  ' '  late ' '  situation  at  a  glance.  At  the 
blast  of  the  whistle,  the  general  cabinet  is  also  locked.  Workmen 
who  are  late  must  see  the  superintendent's  timekeeper  in  order 
to  get  their  checks.  On  his  records,  the  workman  is  "docked" 


PAYROLL   SYSTEMS 


161 


to  the  next  half  hour.  Reaching  his  department,  the  late  ar- 
rival must  also  hunt  up  his  foreman  in  order  to  deliver  his 
check  and  be  started  at  work.  The  foreman  makes  note  of  this 
time  and  thus  checks  on  the  timekeeper's  record.  This  prevents 
loafing  between  the  two  checking  operations. 

Foremen  also  receive  checks  on  coming  in,  but  their  rack  is 
inside  the  superintendent's  office  and  their  checks  are  on  the  rings 
of  keys  which  they  hang  up  at  quitting  time. 

Duplicate  check  systems  are  in  use  at  many  plants.  In  one 
concern  three  checks  are  made  for  every  member.  Each  em- 
ployee is  given  one,  known  as  his  identification  check.  On  the 
board  at  the  main  entrance  is  the  second  check.  The  incoming 
workmen  show  the  attendant  their  identification  checks.  He 
thereupon  removes  the  corresponding  checks  from  the  "out" 
board  and  tosses  them  into  a  box,  later  to  be  hung  on  the  "in" 
board.  The  checks  remaining  on  the  out  board  at  whistle  time 
are  listed  on  the  time  record.  By  a  similar  process,  the  foreman 
or  his  assistant  shifts  the  third  check  when  the  workman  reaches 
his  department,  and  the  record  of  tardiness  there  comes  in  as  a 
check  for  the  timekeeper.  Late  slips  and  passes  are  used  for 
entrance  and  exit  during  hours. 


CLOCK  NO. 


ASSEMBLING 


ORDER  NO. 
D 


NAME 


QUANTITY 


DESCRIPTION  OF  ARTICLE 


PUTTING  UP  BRS. 


PUTTING  UP  MRS. 


CLEANING  BRS. 


WRAPPING 


BOXING 


BURNISHING 


PAINTING 


CEMENTING 


BUNDLING 


REPAIRING 


CUTTING 


SCORING 


NAILING 


STAYING 


LINING 


INSPECTING 


WASHING 


CLEANING  ROOM 


OPERATION  PERFORMED 


LABELING 


GENERAL 


10 


12 


APPROVED 


RATE  PER 


HRS. 


FORM  XXXI:  By  having  the  operations  in  each  department  classified  and  printed  with  the  hour 

and  half-hour  schedule,  the  foremen  at  the  Florence  Manufacturing  Company,  with  a  hand  punch. 

are  enabled  quickly  to  apportion  time  on  jobs,  and  make  an  unerasable  record 

In  another  plant,  each  employee  uses  two  numbered  checks 
which  the  doorkeeper  gives  out  every  morning.    The  workman 


162 


WAGE   PAYMENT 


goes  to  the  first,  second,  third  or  fourth  floor  of  the  building  at 
morning  and  at  noon,  and  deposits  one  or  the  other  check  in  a 
slot  from  which  it  drops  to  the  timekeeper's  office.  Checks  for 
those  employed  on  each  floor  are  larger  than  those  for  the  floor 
below,  and  require  a  larger  slot.  The  baskets  into  which  the 
checks  fall  are  unobtrusively  changed  when  the  whistle  sounds. 

Under  scientific  management,  a  similar  plan  is  used  with  work 
tickets.  At  each  shop  entrance  is  a  numbered  compartment  for 
individual  assignment  cards.  This  cabinet  the  clerk  locks  at 
whistle  time.  Tardy  men  must  report  at  the  office  to  get  their 
assignments.  All  records  are  turned  in  every  night. 

At  the  Clothcraft  Shops  in  Cleveland,  brass  pins  are  used 
instead  of  checks.  During  hours,  the  worker  wears  his  pin  on 
his  left  bosom.  At  quitting  time  he  hangs  it  on  a  hook  in  a 
cabinet  in  his  department.  At  the  beginning  whistle,  the  opera- 
tives line  up  at  their  respective  cabinets  and  file  by,  taking  their 
pins.  Five  minutes  later,  when  the  second  whistle  sounds. 


V\ 

EEKLY 

INDIR 

ECTU 

WEEK  EM 

BOR1 

IN6  

1ME  Til 

;KET 

t91_ 

DAY  OF 

DESCRIPTIO 

N 

ORDER  NO 

FROM 

i 

0 

ACTU/ 
WO 

LTIME 
MED 

ffi 

s 

MEE 

TINGS 

BATH 

CO 

>TS 

WEEK 

OF  WORK 

HOURS 

MINUTES 

HOURS 

MINUTES 

HOURS 

MINUTES 

HOURS 

MINUTES 

HOURS 

MINUTES 

MIN. 

DOL 

CTS. 

A.M. 

P.M. 

TUt 

A.M. 

P.M. 

A.M. 

P.M. 

A.M. 

P.M. 

FRL 

A.M. 

P.M. 

SAT 

A.M. 

P.M. 

EMPLO 

YEE'S  NAME 

TOTA 

1TIME 

T^ 

s 

OEPAR 

TMENT 

t 

HECK  NO. 

RATE 

TOTAL 

EARNINGS 

FORM  XXXII:     Daily  time  cards  are  the  rule  in  most  plants.     This  time  ticket  takes  care  of 
indirect  labor  time  for  an  entire  week  and  thus  simplifies  the  timekeeper's  work  in  the  foundry 
where  it  is  used.      Special  columns  indicate  that  time  is  allowed  the  men  to  attend  shop  meetings 
and  for  baths  during  their  day's  work 

everyone  is  at  his  station.  Night  and  morning  the  supervisor 
closes  the  cabinet.  During  hours,  only  the  timekeeper  with  his 
special  pass  key  may  open  it. 

At  the  same  moment,  the  timekeeper  starts  a  circuit  of  the 
departments  gathering   all   remaining   pins   in   an   especially 


Two  methods  of  timekeeping  are  the  clock-and-card  plan,  under  which  each  workman  stamps  his 
time  on  his  card  and  shifts  it  to  the  other  rack,  and  the  system  which  requires  that  he  simply  punch 
his  number  at  the  time  clock.     Under    both  plans  other  precautions  are  necessary  absolutely  to 
prevent  one  employee  from  checking  in  for  another 


Hi 

08  -2 


if 


IIS 


>  .3 

=3  SI 


ill 


. 

ill 

I 


PAYROLL   SYSTEMS 


165 


constructed  tray.  On  reaching  the  office  he  finds  any  c '  tardies ' ' 
lined  up  under  the  eye  of  the  service  superintendent.  After 
making  his  records,  he  gives  out  the  pins  to  the  tardies,  who  then 
report  for  work.  Rarely,  however,  out  of  nearly  one  thousand  in 
the  plant,  is  a  single  person  late  a  minute.  Pins  not  called  for 


AMOSKEAG  MANUFACTURING  COMPANY 

DESCRIPTION  OF  WORK 

REAMING,  TURNING  AND  FINISHING  SPEEDER  BOLSTERS 

PAYMENT 

ENDING 

TIME 

PRODUCTION 

EARNED 

TIME 

HOURS 

REQUIRED 

ACTUAL 

GAIN 

PER  HOUR 

PER  PIECE 

PER  PIECE 

WORKMAN'S  NAME                                                                   OUTPUT  INCREASED 

PAY  $                                                                   EA 

RNINGS  INCREA 
ST  REDUCED 

SEn 

PRODUCTION  RATE     PER  PIECE                                               CO 

BONUS  RATE  5 
FOREMAN'S  SIC 

0% 

CONTRACT  MADE 

NATURE                                                            CO 

NTRACT  EXPIRi 

:o 

FORM  XXXIII:    The  bonuses  for  the  foreman  and  sub-foreman  are  determined  from  the  data  which 
is  collected  on  the  card  here  shown.     In  the  shop  where  this  card  was  used  a  workman  increased  his 
output  50  per  cent,  added  a  bonus  of  $2.50  to  his  regular  wage  and  lowered  the  labor  cost  of  the  part 
he  handled  from  twenty  cents  each  to  sixteen  and  two-thirds  cents 

by  tardies  represent  absentees  and  are  hung  up  in  the  office  in 
three  cabinets,  designating  different  periods  of  non-attendance. 
Absentees  must  also  interview  the  service  superintendent.  When 
an  operator  definitely  leaves,  his  pin  is  transferred  to  a  fourth 
cabinet  to  be  reissued.  A  glance  at  these  cabinets  apprises  the 
manager  of  any  serious  difficulty  with  attendance. 

A  concern  with  an  outside  work  gang  provides  individual 
tickets  which  are  punched  at  the  door  and  by  the  foremen 
throughout  the  day.  The  tickets  are  divided  into  five-minute 
intervals.  The  Florence  Manufacturing  Company  uses  a  similar 
punch  system  to  keep  indirect,  direct  and  piecework  time.  The 
cards  (Form  XXXI)  are  printed  in  lots  of  fifty  for  each  man, 
carrying  his  name  and  number.  The  foreman  date-stamps  the 
card  and  with  his  punch  checks  the  operation,  his  approval  and 
the  time.  He  has  no  writing  to  do.  Each  foreman  has  a  dis- 


166 


WAGE  PAYMENT 


tinctive  punch  and  thus  makes  a  record  that  cannot  be  changed. 
A  card  is  used  for  every  job  and  the  total  cards  filed  under  one 
man's  name  are  the  basis  for  paying  at  the  end  of  the  week. 

Reducing  "lates"  is  usually  a  matter  of  diplomacy  as  well 
as  one  of  timekeeping.  Upon  the  recommendation  of  a  commit- 
tee of  the  ordinary  employees,  the  Simplex  Electric  Company 
management  goes  over  the  tardiness  records  witti  each  foreman 
monthly  and  holds  him  responsible  for  discipline  in  his  depart- 
ment. The  result  has  been  a  reduction  of  " lates"  from  thirty- 
five  to  one  or  two  per  cent  of  the  employees. 

CHECKING  UP  ON  THE  AMOUNT  OP 
DAY  WORK  DONE 

/~\N  day  work,  time  tickets  additional  to  the  plans  for  check- 
ing in  and  out  are  important  for  their  bearing  on  labor  costs 
and  their  ability  to  show  the  efficiency  of  the  workmen.  Where 
payment  is  made  by  the  piece  or  includes  a  bonus  and  requires 
checking  against  work  standards,  with  subtraction  for  errors,  a 
simple  but  accurate  record  of  work  is  essential  (Forms  XXXII 
and  XXXIII). 


FORM  XXXIV: 


Both  piece  and  day  work  in  all  departments  are  taken  care  of  on  this  simple 
daily  time  note  in  use  in  a  small  woodworking  factory 


In  the  Manila  Bureau  of  Printing  a  time  ticket  (Form  XXXV) 
has  been  worked  out,  the  simplicity  of  which  enables  one  clerk 
to  abstract  the  daily  time  of  about  two  hundred  printers.  Upon 
beginning  work,  the  operator  enters  the  order  number  and  the 
operation  number  in  their  respective  columns.  A  yellow  form 
printed  in  green  is  used  for  overtime. 


PAYROLL  SYSTEMS 


167 


Mi 

WORKMA 

1  CERTIFY  ON  MY  OFFICIAL  O/ 

N'S  DAILY  TIME  TICKET            j 

TH  THAT  THE  TIME  NOTED  ON  THIS  TICKET  IS  CORRECT 

BINDERY 
DIVISION 

RATE  OF  PAY 

HAI 

• 

REGULAR  TIME 

CRAFTSMAN  JUNIOR  CRAFTSMAN.  APPRENTICE.  HELPER. 

A.  M. 

P.M. 

ORDER      TIME    PA 
"UMBER    TOT 

SPECIALTY  NUMBER; 
RT            ALSO  QUANTITY 
WHEN  ORDERED 

OFFICE  USE 

NUMBER 

m 

PART 

IB 

OFFICE  USE 

"1 

KD     N 

•OR 

HAND 

MACK 

IDS      1 

1.06 

41 

e.12     : 

• 

1.12 

FRIDAY 

SHOP  £1558 

1.18 

1.24 

130 

BUTTONHOLES                 | 

mum 

2NDBUTTON 

136 

D.S.-S-  I  i!5 

**  - 

_  ±  < 

$   "K  "J"    "f 

1.42 

STYLE 

SILKJW 

Ml 

1.54 

200 

1              S            I 

13 

17 

21 

2» 

2.06 

51 

71? 

a 

2             I            10 

18 

22 

26 

2.18 

S3 

2.24 

54 

3              7            11 

19 

19 

23 

2.30 

55 

4              1            12 

18 

20 

24 

2.36 

56 

2.42 

57 

•RUSHER                  £1558          OfEPRESSER 

£155 

2.48 

56 

8 

2.54 

56 

8ASTINS  PULLER        E   1558          BUI 

TONHOLE  MAKER  E  155 

3.00 

60 

3.06 

(1 

EDGE  STITCHER         E   1558          FINISHER 

£155 

112 

62 

118 

63 

COLLAR  MAKER         £1558         COLLAR  SEWER           £155 
r  

g 

3.24 

64 

3.30 

65 

WUARSHAPER        £1558         COLLAR  PRESSED        £1558 

3J6 

66 

A  R  WHOLE  RASTER      £  1558         ARMHOLE  PRE 

MR  £155 

3.42 

67 

8 

148 

66 

^SEWER8"™1      ^   1558         UN.IAST0I 

£155 

154 

66 

8 

44)0 

70 

ED6EBASTER           £  1558         SIECTEAI»  TAPE       £155 

ft« 

TAPER                      £   1558         1ST  RASTER 

£155 

8 

SHAPE!                     E   1558          CAN  RASTER 

£1558 

-  — 

FOR  THE  FOREMAN 

ACCURATE  TIME  MUST  BE  KEPT 

(SEE  OTHER  SIDE  FOR  NUMBERED  SPECIALTIES  AMD  INSTRUCTIONS. 

"&S?"    E1558    "W"- 

£1558 

-  — 

"Sffi11            E   155 

3 

8        IHLMKR. 

£1558 

SUEVEMMt            £    1558         TRIMMER 

£155 

8 

FORMS  XXXV  and  XXXVI:  With  the  larger  form,  in  use  at  the  Manila  Bureau  of  Printing,  the 
workman's  time  entries  are  simplified.  A  six-minute  interval  space  given  a  number  tinder  "Part" 
enables  the  cost  clerk  to  check  the  time  in  tenths  of  hours  and  read  the  cash  entries  from  a  wage 
scale.  The  small  card  is  a  coupon  time  card  used  in  a  tailoring  business;  each  workman  detaches 
a  coupon  and  presents  it  for  credit  at  the  end  of  the  day 


168 


WAGE  PAYMENT 


Where  a  simple  form  is  desired  to  take  care  of  every  kind  of 
work  and  all  departments,  the  system  used  in  a  small  woodwork- 
ing factory  provides  for  the  entry  of  either  piecework  or  day 
work,  production  or  indirect  (Form  XXXIV).  The  foreman 
hands  each  man  his  time  note  when  he  registers  in,  dating  it.  A 
goods  tag  on  each  truck  load  of  parts  gives  the  workman  the 


How  Employees  Were  Grouped  and  48  Rates  of  Pay  Were 
Reduced  to  10  in  the  Original  Ford  Classification 
KEY 

A-Mechanics  and  Sub-Foremenr               Service-Employees  in  Service  Continuously 
B    Skilled  Operators                                              for  Two  Years  and  over 
C-Operators                                                      1-First  Class  Workmen 

D    Helpers                                                            2  -  Men  of  Average  Ability 
E-  Laborers                                                             3    Beginners 

Skill 
Rate 

Former 
Hiring 
Rate 

Present 
Per 
Hour 
Rate 

Rates 
Ranging 

59-60 

52-58 

46-50 

42-45 

38-41 

34-37 

29-33 

26-28 

23-25 

20-22 

Condens- 
ed To 

65 

60 

54 

48 

43 

38 

34 

30 

26 

23 

A-XX 

2 

7 

A-X 

A—  1 

54 

2 

A-2 

48 

45 

A-3 

43 

273 

B—  Service 

43 

51 

B—  1 

38 

606 

B-2 

34 

1457 

B-3 

23 

30 

1317 

0    Service 

38 

19 

C—  1 

34 

348 

C-2 

30 

2071 

C-3 

23 

26 

4311 

D-1 

34 

31 

D-2 

30 

137 

D-3 

23 

26 

416 

E 

23 

26 

2003 

Special 

20 

23 

?00 

Total               13,304 

FIGURE  XX:      From  a  general  survey  of  the  entire  operating  force  this  skill  rate  classification 

was  worked  out  at  the  Ford  Motor  plant.  A  few  standard  rates  of  pay  on  the  hour  basis  were  then 

determined  and  adopted  as  indicated  here.     This  classification  was  made  a  few  months  before  profit 

sharing  with  employees  was  introduced  in  the  plant 

information  for  filling  in  the  first  four  columns  and  a  tag  on  his 
machine  or  work  bench,  the  operation  number.  As  these  various 
items  are  symbolized,  the  writing  required  of  the  men  is  slight. 

He  makes  no  distinction  between  piece  and  direct  day  work. 
As  they  pass  out,  the  workmen  deposit  these  notes  in  a 
box  from  which  the  foreman  secures  them  early  next  morning 
for  check-up. 

On  receiving  a  batch  of  these  slips  bearing  the  0,  K.  of  the 


PAYROLL  SYSTEMS 169 

foreman,  the  cost  clerk  checks  the  time  against  the  clock  sheets, 
marks  in  piece  prices  and  day  rates  and  then  extends  the  money 
columns.  He  next  files  the  notes  by  the  workmen's  numbers. 
In  making  up  the  pay,  he  takes  each  man's  time  notes  and  with 
a  calculating  machine  totals  his  pay.  Piece  figures  he  posts  to 
a  distribution  payroll  which  carries  down  the  left-hand  side, 
the  workmen 's  numbers  and  across  the  top  the  different  kinds  of 
work.  After  checking  back,  he  again  sorts  his  time  notes  accord- 
ing to  pattern  and  part  numbers,  and  posts  to  an  "operation 
cost  record."  From  this,  quarterly  or  semi-annually,  average 
costs  are  struck  by  operations  and  from  these,  total  part  and 
article  costs  are  built  up. 

One  of  the  simplest  forms  for  piecework  is  that  in  use  in  a 
large  garment  factory.  A  tag  (Form  XXXVI)  is  pinned  to 
every  garment.  The  ticket  carries  a  coupon  for  each  operation 
required.  These  are  detached  successively  by  the  operatives,  who 
turn  them  in  at  night  for  credit.  Bach  operative's  coupons  for 
the  day  are  verified,  bundled  and  then  filed  by  the  payroll  clerk. 

Above  the  block  of  coupons,  the  tag  contains  a  section  divided 
into  as  many  squares  as  there  are  coupons  below — twenty-six  for 
a  coat.  As  the  worker  detaches  his  coupon,  he  place  his  clock 
number  in  the  proper  square.  This  gives  the  office  a  separate 
tally  on  the  credits.  A  uniform  piece  price  for  each  operation 
makes  it  possible  to  keep  the  system  simple. 

TAKING  CARE  OF  THE  PAYROLL 
AT  MINIMUM  COST 

j\/f  ODERN  office  appliances  have  made  the  routine  of  caring 
for  the  payroll  simple  and  inexpensive.  "Experience," 
says  one  manager,  "has  taught  me  that  a  $12  girl,  a  time  regis- 
ter and  a  calculating  machine  can  handle  a  payroll  of  one  hun- 
dred in  a  day."  The  details  of  this  manager's  method  are  to 
check  the  job  tickets  against  the  clock  slips,  then  to  paste  each 
man's  six  clock  slips  on  a  single  sheet  of  paper,  foot  and  extend 
in  the  margin,  enter  in  a  payroll  book  so  arranged  that  the 
names,  check  numbers  and  rates  are  only  written  once  a  month, 
and  address  the  pay  envelopes,  pay  sheets,  time  cards  and  piece- 
work tickets  on  an  addressing  machine.  Where,  as  in  the  Ford 
Motor  plant,  every  day  is  payday  in  some  department,  a  small 


170  WAGE  PAYMENT 


payroll  force  will  serve,  with  a  uniform  cycle  of  work  (Figure 
XX). 

When  payday  comes,  the  problem  of  getting  the  money  to 
the  men  accurately  and  quickly  has*  resulted  in  many  ingenious 
devices.  One  plant  has  a  long  strip  of  oil  cloth  painted  with 
the  numbers.  This  is  stretched  for  the  occasion  and  each  man 
covers  his  number.  Another  concern  uses  thin  boards  for  the 
same  purpose.  Again,  the  numbers  are  painted  on  the  wall. 
Passing  down  the  line  with  the  pay  envelopes  in  numerical  order, 
the  clerks  can  quickly  identify  the  men,  secure  their  signatures 
and  turn  over  the  money. 

To  guard  against  paying  the  wrong  man,  and  especially  among 
non-English-speaking  employees,  duplicate  identification  checks 
have  been  successfully  used.  One  check  for  each  employee's 
number  is  round  in  shape,  the  other  square.  One  week  the  pay- 
master receives  from  the  workmen  the  round  identification  check, 
and  after  comparing  numbers,  slips  the  corresponding  square 
check  into  the  pay  envelope.  The  next  week  he  receives  the 
square  check  and  gives  out  the  round.  Checks  not  in  use  are 
kept  on  a  "not  employed  board."  When  preparing  the  payroll, 
the  paymaster  consults  this  board  to  make  sure  that  no  dummy 
numbers  appear.  These  checks  are  also  used  at  the  factory 
door  and  a  square  check  presented  during  a  "round  check" 
week  is  immediately  detected. 


Part  IV 

KEEPING  THE  FORCE 
UP  TO  STANDARD 


AUTHORITIES'  AND  SOURCES 
FOR  PART  IV 


Chapter  XVIII.  This  chapter  is  based  upon  a  study  of 
advanced  man-handling  methods  in  more  than  a  score  of  plants 
and  industries,  including  Timken  Roller  Bearing  Company,  a 
southern  railway  system,  General  Electric  Company,  Felt  & 
Tarrant,  Carnegie  Steel  Company,  two  publishing  concerns,  a 
brass  foundry,  a  bag-making  concern,  contract  work,  etc.  Con- 
tributed by  Mr.  Murphy,  with  the  collaboration  of  Mr.  Porter. 

Chapter  XIX.  William  Hard  has  here  summarized  some  of 
the  most  remarkable  material  presented  by  Josephine  Goldmark 
in  her  book  "Fatigue  and  Efficiency,"  recently  issued  by  the 
Russell  Sage  Foundation.  Studies  of  fatigue  and  efficiency  in 
the  laboratory  and  in  German,  English  and  American  plants  in 
many  lines  are  covered. 

Chapter  XX.  Based  upon  a  study  of  benefit  and  pension 
funds  and  their  administration  in  more  than  five  hundred  plants, 
including  practically  all  the  more  important  benefit  plans  in 
operation  in  the  United  States.  The  chapter  was  contributed 
by  W.  L.  Chandler  of  the  Dodge  Manufacturing  Company. 
Among  the  special  features  in  this  chapter  are  charts  analyzing 
a  mutual  benefit  association  among  the  factories  at  Flint, 
Michigan,  and  a  study  of  the  most  important  industrial  pension 
plans,  showing  the  development  of  the  pension  idea  since  the 
American  Express  Company  and  other  pioneers  took  it  up  in 
the  seventies. 

Chapter  XXI.  A  collaboration  by  Robert  W.  Campbell, 
President,  National  Council  of  Industrial  Safety  and  former 
Chairman,  Central  Committee  of  Safety,  Illinois  Steel  Company; 
Mr.  Murphy  and  Mr.  Porter.  The  chapter  presents  safety 
standards  and  developments  in  the  United  States  Steel  Cor- 
poration, Chicago  and  Northwestern  Railway  Company,  Avery 
Company  and  many  other  concerns. 

Chapter  XXII.  Mr.  Porter  contributes  this  chapter,  which 
is  based  chiefly  upon  his  study  of  the  advanced  welfare  methods  of 
the  Joseph  &  Feiss  Company,  with  the  collaboration  of  Richard 
A.  Feiss,  General  Manager,  and  Miss  Gilson,  head  of  the  service 
department.  The  welfare  policies  of  many  other  plants  have 
received  consideration.  Points  of  special  interest  in  some  of 
these  are  covered  by  charts  and  photographs. 


XVIII 

ROUSING  THE  INSTINCT 
FOR  RESULTS 


EIGHTEEN  men  at  work  in  a  borrow  pit  had  in  their  aver- 
age ten-hour  day  been  sending  down  twenty  dump  cars 
of  clay  to  the  site  of  the  dam  which  was  being  built  in  the 
river  below.  Three  weeks  later,  under  a  new  boss,  the  gang  had 
been  reduced  to  twelve  men  and  was  averaging  sixty  cars  a  day, 
with  a  high  record  of  eighty  loads  in  ten  hours. 

"A  Y-section  of  track  extended  on  either  side  of  the  borrow 
pit,"  the  gang  boss  explained.  "Two  cars  were  placed  on  one 
branch  and  loaded  simultaneously  by  separate  gangs.  Before 
they  would  be  filled  a  pair  of  empties  would  come  back  and  be 
placed  on  the  other  branch.  The  loaded  ones  would  then  be 
dispatched  by  gravity,  and  the  gang,  moving  over  to  the  other 
branch,  would  begin  loading  the  pair  of  empties  which  the 
horse  had  just  pulled  back  up  the  grade. 

"When  I  took  hold,  the  output  was  averaging  twenty  cars  a 
day.  To  better  these  results,  I  first  made  the  mechanical  equip- 
ment as  effective  as  possible;  and,  second,  stirred  my  men  to  a 
keener  interest  in  their  work.  I  put  the  track  in  first-class  con- 
dition, so  that  there  would  be  no  delays  due  to  derailment,  and 
placed  in  charge  a  man  who  was  to  see  that  the  rails  and  especial- 
ly the  switches  were  in  perfect  working  order,  and  that  the 
loaded  cars  and  empties  were  so  handled  as  to  avoid  all  delays. 

"Next,  I  carefully  sorted  the  gang,  which  was  composed  of 
Neapolitans  and  Calabrians  in  about  equal  proportions.  Min- 
gled, they  had  quarreled ;  apart,  but  pitted  group  against  group, 
they  worked  with  all  the  pride  of  their  race  distinction.  This 
was  a  chief  factor  in  increased  output.  Competition  finally 


174 MAINTAINING  THE  FORCE 

became  so  keen  that  the  gangs  raced  with  each  other  not  only  to 
get  a  car  filled  first,  but  to  heap  it  higher.  Then  the  winners 
invariably  would  plant  a  green  branch  in  the  peak  of  the  load 
and  cheer  as  it  rolled  down  the '"grade.  And  while  they  were 
cheering  they  were  also  relaxing.  The  short  walk  to  the  other 
track  gave  them  an  extra  breathing  space.  I  should  say  that 
they  rested  about  two  minutes  out  of  every  ten,'  or  about  twenty 
per  cent  of  the  time.  For  this  reason  they  were  easily  able  to 
stand  the  gaff  of  their  own  game.  , 

"I  further  insisted  that  every  man  should  use  his  shovel  cor- 
rectly. Naturally  some  did,  but  most  did  not  and,  as  I  soon 
discovered,  it  was  not  always  because  of  ignorance.  I  had 
myself  found  out  the  best  way  previously,  by  shoveling  at  inter- 
vals on  other  parts  of  the  work.  I  fixed  on  a  reasonable  shovel 
load  and  throwing  distance,  and  on  the  correct  way  to  throw. 
Thereafter,  when  I  saw  a  man  not  filling  his  shovel  sufficiently, 
or  walking  with  it  when  within  easy  throwing  distance,  or  han- 
dling the  shovel  awkwardly,  I  corrected  him.  Soon  I  had  them 
all  doing  the  operation  in  proper  form.  Whenever  one  took  ad- 
vantage of  my  back  being  turned  to  drop  into  his  old  ways,  I 
got  after  him  at  once,  and  on  one  occasion  I  discharged  a  fla- 
grant offender.  After  that  I  had  no  further  trouble  on  this 
score. 

"I  also  experimented  with  a  workman  whose  confidence  I 
had  won,  to  establish  a  fair  day's  work.  I  put  him  by  himself 
for  several  days  at  filling  a  wheelbarrow.  By  standardizing 
the  shovelfuls  per  load  and  keeping  track  of  the  number  of 
barrowfuls  I  found  that  on  this  material,  which  could  be  scooped 
up  without  previous  loosening,  a  man  should  average  ten  cubic 
yards  in  ten  hours.  As  I  reduced  my  gang,  the  number  of  men 
worked  out  exactly;  sixty  cars  of  two  cubic  yards  each  became 
the  regular  production,  totaling  one  hundred  and  twenty  cubic 
yards,  or  ten  yards  to  the  man. 

"Most  of  the  men  had  been  getting  only  $1.50  when  I  took 
charge.  I  retained  only  those  who  could  hold  up  their  end  and 
paid  all  the  maximum  wage  allowed  on  the  construction — $1.75 
per  day.  By  this  plan  I  soon  had  the  confidence  and  loyalty  of 
the  gang.  They  would  do  an  especially  disagreeable  job,  such 
as  working  in  water,  for  me  when  they  would  not  do  it  for  any- 


WHEN   MEN  GET  RESULTS 175 

one  else.  The  pick  of  the  force  gravitated  to  my  work  and,  on 
finishing  it,  persisted  as  a  select  gang  for  particular  jobs. ' ' 

Fear,  loyalty,  pride  and  ambition — the  method  by  which  in 
three  weeks  this  young  engineer  increased  his  output  per  man 
from  two  and  two-ninths  to  ten  cubic  yards,  or  four  and  a 
half  times,  embodies  in  an  unusual  way  all  these  elements  of 
appeal  to  the  efficiency  instincts  in  any  class  of  workers.  Loy- 
alty— to  the  gang,  the  boss  and  the  business,  based  on  favorable 
working  conditions;  fear  of  discharge  for  the  use  of  wasteful 
methods ;  pride  in  their  race  and  record,  based  on  knowledge  of 
the  best  way  to  work;  ambition  to  maintain  themselves  in  a 
crew  which  was  working  at  a  premium  wage. 

It  is  a  safe  rule  to  keep  fear  of  discharge  and  other  penalties 
in  the  background,  as  a  last  resort  for  exceptional  cases.  Ex- 
perience has  shown  what  rich  results  are  to  be  had  by  the  man- 
ager who  gets  at  the  constructive  impulses  and  so  makes  the 
workmen  think  of  results  and  watch  for  savings  until  in  a 
measure  the  chief's  own  profit  sense  becomes  an  unconscious 
instinct  with  the  men. 

WEEKLY  MEETINGS  OF  THE  MEN 
HELP  TO  DEVELOP  LOYALTY 

T  N  developing  this  instinct,  some  managers  hold  that  if  the  loy- 
alty of  the  men  can  be  won  it  is  more  potent  than  high  wages 
or  profit  sharing  as  a  result-getter.  To  get  the  men  acquainted, 
to  get  the  gang  to  pull  together  and  the  department  heads  to  co- 
operate, to  get  the  men  more  keenly  interested  in  the  game  the 
business  is  playing  and  the  achievements  it  is  scoring — these 
are  the  objects  for  which  many  tactful  superintendents  and 
managers  are  working  (Figure  XXI). 

As  a  step  in  the  development  of  this  instinct  for  results,  L.  M. 
Klinedinst  of  the  Timken  Boiler  Bearing  Company  says:  "An 
eastern  manager  makes  it  a  custom  to  call  weekly  meetings  of 
his  men.  He  advises  them  of  conditions  that  existed  the  week 
before,  or  what  is  to  be  done  the  following  week  and  in  particu- 
lar what  new  business  has  come  in  from  time  to  time.  He  has 
found  that  the  men  in  the  shop  are  interested  to  know  what  busi- 
ness is  ahead  and  that  they  work  together  more  progressively 
for  this  knowledge. 


176 


MAINTAINING  THE  FORCE 


"At  these  workers'  meetings  every  foreman  reports  delays 
in  the  work  in  his  department  and  any  friction  which  may  have 
developed  between  his  department  and  others  during  the  week. 
These  different  topics  are  then  ta£en  up ;  both  sides  of  the  ques- 
tion are  discussed,  and  the  matter  is  adjusted  by  the  manager. 
In  this  way  the  men  can  be  educated  and  adapted  to  a  par- 
ticular line  of  employment." 

"I  used  to  rely  entirely  upon  our  foremen/'  said  another 
manager,  "but  we  now  realize  our  best  results  through  coopera- 
tion— by  keeping  close  to  the  men  and  not  letting  them  think 
that  official  position  prevents  me  from  sharing  in  and  assisting 
them  over  their  difficulties.  Once  a  month  or  oftener  we  call 
the  foremen  together  and  talk  over  shop  methods  and  the  chance 
of  making  improvements,  securing  greater  efficiency  or  cutting 
costs. " 

"I  talk  with  my  department  heads,  not  at  them,"  expresses 
the  knack  by  which  a  general  manager  gets  his  men  to  work 
with  him.  When  he  starts  a  conference  which  involves  person- 


When  Men  Like  to  Work 

When 
Free  to  Choose 
and  Change 
Condition 

When 
Afforded  Variety 
and  Physical 
Pleasure 
in  the  Doing 

When 
Competing 
and 
Achieving 

When 
Personal 
Improvement 
Is  Assured 

When 
Interesting  Risks 
and  Chances 
Stimulate 
to  Endeavor 

When 
Bound 
to  tiie  Work 
through  Loyalty 

FIGURE  XXI:    One  manager  analyzes  the  spirit  of  work  into  these  six  elements.      By  applying 
such  an  analysis  to  conditions  in  his  plant,  a  manager  may  secure  the  viewpoint  of  his  men  and 
get  at  the  reason  for  unsatisfactory  labor  conditions 

alities,  he  tries  to  eliminate  the  personal  factor.  He  supposes 
that  the  difference  of  opinion  over  policy  or  methods  is  the  idea 
of  a  third  party  or  a  development  from  the  conditions  of  the 
business.  Then  he  and  his  department  head  discuss  this  third 
and  outside  point  of  view.  The  ideal  of  results  is  put  ahead  of 
any  personal  consideration  and  the  man  as  well  as  the  manager 
is  enabled  to  get  a  clearer  perspective  on  the  business. 

The  house  organ  that  publishes  the  doings  of  an  organi- 
zation in  a  neighborly  style  has  many  ways  of  working  up  team 
spirit.  Bulletin  board  notices,  pay  envelope  slips  and  moving 


WHEN   MEN  GET  RESULTS 177 

pictures  of  processes  and  results  are  among  the  devices  in  suc- 
cessful use.  One  manager  posts  a  chart  showing  the  daily  prog- 
ress of  the  business.  Record  is  made  of  all  large  contracts  and 
orders  and  of  progress  on  deliveries.  Dozens  of  interesting 
points  in  these  items  enable  the  manager  with  a  nose  for  news 
to  get  his  men  to  watching  results.  At  the  works  of  the  General 
Electric  Company  big  turbines  and  other  machines  which  are 
going  to  famous  plants  or  on  long  journeys  to  foreign  fields 
have  painted  on  them  their  destination  and  use.  This  little  news 
touch  dignifies  the  work  and  helps  the  men  to  put  personal  inter- 
est into  the  product. 

LEADERSHIP  THAT  ASSURES  A  WINNING 
TEAM  SPIRIT  AMONG  THE  MEN 

\\7HEN  this  interest  in  the  business  blooms  out  into  an  ex- 
pansive pride  based  on  good  working  conditions,  good 
leadership  and  a  brilliant  record — the  sense  of  belonging  to  a 
winning  team — output  is  apt  to  exceed  expectations  and  endow 
the  plant  with  an  enviable  reputation.  Such  is  the  case  in  the 
front  shop  of  a  southern  roundhouse  where  the  boiler  room 
foreman  has  for  five  years  kept  his  men  ahead  in  their  race  with 
the  machine  shop  force.  Whenever  a  hazardous  situation  came 
up,  a  dangerous  test  to  be  made,  or  a  man  to  be  saved  from  an 
accident,  he  was  always  leading  his  men.  When  the  work  piled 
up,  and  the  mechanics  began  to  grin  at  the  prospect  of  an 
empty  machine  shop  adjoining  the  crowded  boiler  room,  he  had 
a  working  schedule  that  soon  reversed  the  condition — an  installa- 
tion of  air  tools  or  air  hoists  that  lifted  weight  from  the  shoul- 
ders of  his  men,  short  cut  delays  and  enabled  every  man  to  do 
more  in  his  nine  hours.  In  five  years,  with  a  reduction  in  pay- 
roll, he  has  thus  cared  for  an  increased  volume  of  work,  sus- 
tained wage  increases  per  man  and  four-fold  increased  output. 
The  pick  of  all  boiler  men  are  at  his  command.  Letters  of 
application  come  from  all  over  the  United  States,  seeking  work 
in  a  shop  noted  for  good  tools  and  a  good  boss.  His  men  appear 
absorbed  in  getting  results  and  approval.  Their  loyalty  in  rush 
times,  overhours  work  and  threatened  labor  troubles  amounts 
almost  to  an  ownership  interest  in  the  shop. 


178 MAINTAINING   THE  FORCE 

Reinforcing  a  man's  pride  in  his  shop,  he  needs  an  indi- 
vidual pride  in  his  own  share  in  the  work.  Self-respect  de- 
mands that  he  feel  himself  of  importance  in  the  total  result. 
Every  worker,  according  to  his  intelligence,  needs  to  see  just 
what  he  is  doing,  as  compared  with  good  work,  his  past  record 
and  the  output  of  his  mates.  He  needs  to  be  shown  how,  to 
have  the  mechanical  conditions  right,  to  have  his  errors  pointed 
out.  He  needs  to  see  his  work  and  to  feel  responsible  for  a 
definite  part  in  the  general  success.  If  he  can  also  work  towards 
a  reward  within  the  length  of  his  own  vision  and  ambition,  pro- 
portionate to  his  share  in  the  shop's  success,  and  towards  some 
honor,  if  he  proves  himself  above  the  ordinary  in  skill,  then  his 
instinct  for  good  workmanship  is  almost  certain  to  keep  growing. 

With  the  routine  worker,  the  recognized  method  of  setting  a 
standard  and  keeping  his  ability  before  his  eyes  is  to  pass  the 
work  to  and  beyond  him  on  an  automatic  conveyor  adjusted  to  a 
fair  pace.  This  makes  work  more  than  routine.  It  gives  some- 
thing to  compete  with — to  play  against.  A  metropolitan  daily 
newspaper  uses  such  a  conveyor  to  carry  the  printed  papers 
from  the  press  to  the  mailing  room  on  the  floor  above.  This 
conveyor,  the  superintendent  of  the  plant  has  found,  goes  a 
long  way  toward  keeping  up  a  uniform  speed  among  the  mailers, 
though  formerly  when  the  papers  were  brought  in  on  hand 
trucks,  the  work  was  uneven  and  less  effective  man  by  man. 

FINDING  PACE-MAKERS  THAT  TUNE 
UP  THE  ENTIRE  PLANT 

ACE  making  is  a  practical  application  of  psychology,  so  man- 
agers believe.  Let  your  shafting  rattle,  they  will  tell  you, 
and  you  will  notice  that  most  of  the  hand  labor  is  done  to  the 
tune  of  the  shaft  and  belt.  Connect  the  line  shaft  for  a  higher 
speed,  so  that  the  "lap-lap"  of  the  belts  becomes  more  frequent, 
and  the  men  keep  time  to  the  rhythm.  In  the  same  way,  not 
only  machines  and  conveyors,  but  men,  foremen  and  sales  organ- 
izations have  been  found  to  pace  the  shop  workers. 

An  Ohio  brass  foundry  put  on  a  keen,  high-strung,  journey- 
man at  a  dull-season  job  of  keeping  the  men  supplied  with 
material.  He  set  himself  to  do  his  best  and  to  win  promotion. 
Soon  a  surprising  change  was  taking  place.  Production  in  the 


WHEN   MEN  GET  RESULTS 179 

department  steadily  increased  until  within  six  months  it  was 
doubled.  After  careful  study  the  manager  came  to  the  conclu- 
sion that,  as  he  had  hired  only  the  one  new  man,  this  helper,  by 


DEVELOPING  THE  MANAGEMENT  INSTINCT 
IN  WORKMEN 

Suggestion  systems  give  workmen  a  management  interest  in  the 
business.  Manufacturers  who  have  tried  such  schemes  have  found 
that  men  must  not  only  be  asked  to  suggest,  but  also  told  how  to 
suggest.  Any  system  needs  to  be  followed  up  closely.  While  scien- 
tific management  does  not  necessarily  provide  for  a  suggestion  system, 
more  suggestions  are  likely  to  be  made  under  such  management. 
•Where  profit  sharing  is  established,  workmen  are  more  likely  to  turn 
in  ideas  of  their  «wn  initiative.  Skilled  workmen  make  fewer  but 
more  valuable  suggestions  than  unskilled  men.  Managers  have  em- 
ployed calendars,  instructions,  telephone  cards,  pay  envelopes,  placards 
and  blotters  in  prompting  suggestions. 

One  manager  framed  and  hung  in  conspicuous  places  throughout 
his  factory  the  following  notice,  which  carried  his  signature : 

Every  employee  of  this  company  is  invited  to  make  sug- 
gestions. 

We  want  your  cooperation  in  our  work. 

We  welcome  criticism. 

You  are  on  the  job.  You  are  in  a  position  to  know  what 
is  needed,  in  many  cases,  better  than  any  one  else. 

Use  the  suggestion  blanks.  Seal  the  suggestion  in  the 
addressed  envelope  and  place  it  in  the  Suggestion  Box 
at  the  east  and  west  entrance,  or  send  it  through  the 
mail  (local  service). 

Each  suggestion  will  receive  my  personal  attention. 

If  you  don't  think  the  reason  given  for  rejecting  a  sug- 
gestion is  a  good  one,  take  the  question  up  personally 
with  the  undersigned. 

If  you  do  not  receive  an  acknowledgment  for  each  sugges- 
tion sent  in,  notify  the  undersigned. 

Do  not  expect  to  be  advised  as  to  the  rejection  or  accept- 
ance of  your  suggestion  at  once.  It  takes  time  to 
investigate  and  to  secure  the  facts  before  passing  on  its 
merits. 


his  deft  placing  o£  material  and  care  of  tools,  had  tuned  up  the 
whole  plant.  He  promoted  his  helper  at  length  to  a  foreman- 
ship  and  now  makes  it  a  point  to  employ  a  truck  hand  who  has 
the  alertness  and  enthusiasm  of  a  pacemaker. 

Putting  men  on  their  mettle  is  another  knack  with  the  gen- 
uine manager.     The  average  workman  develops  best  when  a 


180 MAINTAINING   THE  FORCE 

high  standard  of  workmanship  is  set  for  him.  Slovenly  work- 
ing conditions  discourage  craftsmanship.  Where  there  is  more 
than  one  shop  in  a  town  it  is  not.  unusual  to  find  the  shop  that 
requires  work  to  thousandths  of  an  inch  looked  upon  as  the 
goal  of  the  best  men  in  the  shop  that  works  only  to  hundredths. 

Giving  each  workman  a  separate  working  space — an  individual 
machine  or  bench  of  his  own — has  a  similar  appeal.  This  fixes 
a  definite  responsibility,  a  definite  task  and  definite  recognition. 
Where  men  are  allowed  to  gang  together  (unless  the  work  so 
requires  and  they  are  paid  as  a  unit)  their  efficiency  usually 
reduces  to  that  of  the  poorest  hand.  It  is  human  nature  to  work 
hardest  when  there  is  a  certain  amount  piled  up  ahead — not  so 
much  as  to  discourage  effort,  however.  It  is  equally  well  proved 
that  operatives  slow  up  when  they  have  accumulated  what  con- 
stitutes a  good  showing.  Moreover,  the  average  workman  will 
hustle  to  pile  up  work  for  the  other  fellow — but  not  to  give 
him  the  pleasure  of  piling  in  more  work  to  be  done.  In  line 
with  these  principles,  one  carefully  planned  factory  has  grouped 
similar  operations  in  natural  departments,  separated  by  glass 
partitions,  has  given  each  man  his  own  working  space  and  has 
allowed  for  a  moderate  pile  of  work  ahead  of  each  man,  with  an 
almost  continuous  removal  of  his  completed  product. 

Piecework  is  distinctively  the  payment  method  that  indi- 
vidualizes every  worker.  The  piece  rate  or  a  scale  of  wages 
frequently  readjusted  to  each  man's  efficiency  has  scored  espe- 
cially favorable  results  where  each  workman  is  in  a  shop  or  on 
a  job  of  his  own.  When  the  element  of  friendly  competition 
among  the  men  is  also  introduced,  results  are  sometimes  phe- 
nomenal. 

In  the  trucking  end  of  a  manufacturing  business  one  of  the 
greatest  leaks  is  the  time  wasted  by  drivers.  They  resent  bit- 
terly, however,  any  attempt  to  check  up  their  time  by  recorders 
or  other  detective  methods.  Yet  by  applying  the  principles  of 
efficiency  wages  and  friendly  competition,  a  bag-making  concern 
in  Cleveland  has  stirred  its  drivers  to  a  genuine  proprietorship 
instinct  for  time  economies. 

When  it  was  decided  to  put  service  recording  registers  on  its 
trucks,  the  garage  manager  frankly  took  the  drivers  into  con- 
fidence. The  recorders  were,  he  explained,  to  determine  good 


ACCIDENT  PREVENTION         SCORE-BOARD 

DODGE  MANUFACTURING  COMPANY. 


FOREMEN  MONTHLY 
COMPETITION 
AS!  Departments 


.... 

;  MACHINE  SHOP 


or  tie  H^est  Three  • 
Scores,  will  Receive 

Sp«!3!J>riZe$  35  per 

HontMy  Prize  list  . 
PRi?EllSTFQR 

HOKTH  OF222SS 


e  Days%  Extra, 
EAD  FOREMAN 


Accident  prevention  in  the  Dodge  Manufacturing  Company  has  been  made  a  contest  by  means  of  the 
score  board  shown  below.      Safety-guards  prevent  the  operator's  clothing  from  becoming  entangled 
2,  right).    In  the  same  plant  a  "safety  cord"  (above)  is  strung  down  the  middle 


in  the  shafting  (middle, 

of  the  room.     By  pulling  it,  all  the  machinery  can  be  brought  to  an  ei 


jrgency  stop 


In  long  continued  effort,  the  body  is  overloaded  with  the  poison  of  fatigue  and  requires  a  dispro- 
portionately long  time  to  recuperate.  In  increasing  labor  efficiency  at  many  plants,  this  principle  is 
established  by  the  work  and  fatigue-recording  instruments  here  shown.  The  arc  at  the  left  (below) 
u  in  chronoscope,  which  measures  the  quickness  of  an  individual's  reaction  in  rest  and  in  fatigue 


WHEN   MEN   GET  RESULTS 183 

and  bad  drivers  with  the  idea  of  excusing  men  for  unavoidable 
delays  and  raising  the  salaries  of  the  drivers  who  were  earning 
more.  On  the  wall  of  the  garage  office  hangs  a  large  blackboard. 
The  top  row  shows  the  truck  numbers;  under  each  is  recorded 
gasoline  purchase  receipts,  shipping  clerk's  record  of  the  truck's 
tonnage,  hours  of  service,  fuel,  travel  and  stops.  A  monthly 
summary  is  made  for  each  item.  All  the  records  are  open  to  the 
inspection  of  the  drivers.  To  hold  the  record  at  the  end  of  the 
month  has  come  to  be  an  item  in  the  day's  work.  The  result  in 
time  saving,  in  more  trips  and  better  tonnage  is  a  recommenda- 
tion for  fair  pay  and  working  standards. 

Some  form  of  team  spirit  or  profit  sharing  is  often  needed  to 
balance  up  the  selfish  influence  of  the  piece  rate.  When,  too, 
fair  pay  and  a  carefully  scored  game  are  added,  with  a  prize  for 
the  winners,  results  are  apt  to  reach  their  maximum.  Those 
who  have  gone  into  Pittsburgh  over  the  main  line  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania Railroad  may  often  have  observed  a  gigantic  broom  at 
the  end  of  one  of  the  mill  buildings  at  Bessemer,  the  big  blast 
furnace  plant  of  the  Carnegie  Steel  Company.  This  broom  is 
one  of  the  greatest  emblems  of  the  result-getting  instinct  among 
workmen,  as  well  as  one  of  the  greatest  dividend-payers  ever 
devised.  It  denotes  that  one  of  the  furnaces  in  the  group  held 
the  world's  record  in  production,  when  the  broom  was  officially 
declared  a  fixture  at  Bessemer.  Men  have  blistered  their  hands 
and  managers  have  spent  sleepless  nights  that  it  might  be 
proudly  displayed  by  their  furnace.  The  men  that  have  won  it 
in  times  past  did  so  at  an  effort  no  reasonable  cash  bonus  could 
possibly  have  bought  or  inspired. 

So  there  is  in  work  something  of  the  same  element  which 
historic  battle  flags  have  symbolized.  In  the  words  of  F.  G. 
Coburn:  "The  human  part  of  industrial  management  is  the 
use  of  certain  psychological  or  psychic  influences  to  cause  em- 
ployees to  work  hard,  loyally  and  intelligently;  and  the  degree 
of  success  attained  depends  largely  on  the  number  of  these  influ- 
ences that  are  correctly  used.  They  have  never  been  clearly 
defined  and  are  not  clearly  understood,  even  by  those  who  use 
them.  When  they  are  defined,  the  industrial  manager  will  have 
a  set  of  proximate  rules  for  a  game  which  is  at  present  played 
without  rules." 


XIX 

REGULATING  WORK  TO 
AVOID  FATIGUE 


THE  Zeiss  Optical  Works  at  Jena,  Germany,  reduced  its 
work-day  from  nine  hours  to  eight  and  increased  its  out- 
put. Ernst  Abbe  was  a  member  of  the  board  of  directors. 
He  was  also  a  professor  of  physics  in  the  University  of  Jena. 
He  compared  the  speed  of  the  seasonal  pieceworkers  in  the  Zeiss 
plant  during  the  last  nine-hour  year  with  their  speed  during 
the  first  eight-hour  year.  These  workers,  233  in  number,  in 
the  last  nine-hour  year  had  worked  a  total  of  559,169  hours. 
In  the  first  eight-hour  year  they  worked  a  total  of  only  509,599 
hours.  A  decrease  of  about  nine  per  cent.  In  the  last  nine- 
hour  year  they  had  earned  a  total  of  345,899  marks.  In  the  first 
eight-hour  year,  at  identical  piece  rates,  they  earned  a  total  of 
366,484  marks.  An  increase  of  almost  six  per  cent! 

The  individual  product  per  hour  shows  the  gain  to  the  firm 
even  more  clearly.  If  the  individual  worker  could  rise  12.5 
per  cent  in  hourly  productivity,  his  product  at  the  end  of  eight 
hours  would  precisely  equal  his  former  product  at  the  end  of 
nine.  What  happened  was  this:  The  average  hourly  earnings 
of  the  individual  pieceworkers  in  the  last  nine-hour  year  had 
been  61.9  pfennig.  The  average  hourly  earnings  of  the  indi- 
vidual pieceworker  during  the  first  eight-hour  year  was  71.9 
pfennig.  An  increase  not  merely  of  12.5,  but  of  16.2  per  cent ! 
Each  man  did  ten  days'  more  work  during  the  year  of  shorter 
hours. 

Abbe's  father  had  worked  a  sixteen-hour  day  in  a  textile  mill, 
and  had  lived  to  see  the  rival  spindles  of  England  outdoing  com- 
petition though  limited  by  law  to  a  ten-hour  day.  But  this  sit- 


HOW   FATIGUE   CUTS  PROFITS 185 

uation  had  not  been  interpreted.  Fatigue  had  not  then  been 
diagnosed  as  a  " diseased"  condition  of  the  body.  Recuperation 
from  fatigue  had  not  been  studied  as  a  necessary  preliminary 
to  efficient  industrial  labor. 

It  was  during  Abbe's  student  days  at  the  university  that 
Ranke,  the  physiologist,  performed  the  first  notable  fatigue  ex- 
periment. Taking  an  extract  from  a  frog  muscle  that  had  been 
thoroughly  exercised  and  exhausted,  he  injected  it  into  the  blood 
vessels  of  a  frog  that  had  been  at  rest.  The  muscles  of  this 
second  frog  immediately  showed  great  feebleness  in  contract- 
ing— that  is,  in  doing  work.  This  test  proved  that  fatigue 
could  be  transmitted,  like  a  toxin,  from  one  animal  to  another. 
A  later  experiment  showed  that  fatigue,  just  as  it  can  be  arti- 
ficially introduced  into  a  muscle,  can  be  artificially  withdrawn 
from  it.  A  detached  frog  muscle  electrically  controlled  until 
fatigued,  then  washed,  through  its  blood  vessels,  with  a  salt  so- 
lution, regains  its  power. 

These  scattered  studies  of  animals  and  human  beings  have 
now  been  expanded  into  a  "literature  of  fatigue,"  the  principal 
teachings  of  which  (for  business  purposes)  are: 

Every  muscle-cell,  besides  being  an  energy-mill,  is  a  poison- 
mill.  It  stands  on  the  brink  of  the  blood-stream.  From  that 
stream  it  receives  its  raw  materials,  pure.  Into  that  stream  it 
returns  its  by-products  poisonous. 

The  cell,  in  part,  lives.  Its  raw  materials  and  its  waste  prod- 
ucts are  dead.  The  minute  machinery  of  the  cell  is  operated 
continuously,  building  dead  food  into  living  tissue,  and  breaking 
down  living  tissue  into  dead  waste. 

In  the  dead  waste,  borne  away  by  the  blood-stream,  there 
float  substances  that  are,  in  particular,  "fatiguing" — namely, 
sarcolactic  acid,  monopotassium  phosphate  and  carbon  dioxide. 

Labor  speeds  up  the  machinery  of  the  cell.  Within  the  cell 
there  is  a  substance  called  glycogen.  It  is  energy,  latent,  like 
coal.  The  machinery  of  the  cell  is  forever  constructing  it,  for- 
ever consuming  it,  forever  trying  to  lay  up  a  reserve  supply  of  it. 

During  continued  labor  the  time  comes  when  an  excess  amount 
of  glycogen  is  needed.  The  machinery  of  the  cell  grasps  at  all 
of  it,  including  the  reserve-supply,  and  manufactures  it  into 
power  and  therefore  into  waste  which  through  the  blood-stream 


186 MAINTAINING   THE   FORCE 

poisons  the  body.  Such  is  fatigue  for  the  muscle-cell.  Such, 
also,  is  fatigue  for  the  nerve-cell.  A  tired  man  is  a  poisoned 
man. 

The  employees  at  the  Zeiss  Optical  Works  could  be  said  to 
have  been  engaged  in  labor  sufficiently  intense,  when  prolonged 
for  nine  hours  a  day,  to  leave  them  too  poisoned  to  be  able  to 
make  complete  recovery  by  whistle-time  next  morning. 

HOW  SHORTER  HOURS  HAVE  YIELDED  MORE  AND  BETTER 
WORK  IN  MANY  FACTORIES 

jyfATHER  &  PLATT,  at  Manchester,  England,  own  the  Sal- 
ford  Iron  Works  and  make  such  things  as  steam  engines, 
pumps,  and  boilers.  They  curtailed  their  work-week  from  fifty- 
three  hours  to  forty-eight,  out  of  curiosity  as  to  the  result.  At 
the  end  of  the  first  trial  year  they  reported  that  their  output 
per  week  per  man  had  been  enlarged. 

"We  seem/'  Mr.  Mather  says,  "to  have  been  working  in  har- 
mony with  a  natural  law,  instead  of  against  it.  The  most  eco- 
nomical production  seems  to  be  attained  by  employing  men  only 
so  long  as  they  are  at  their  best.  When  this  stage  is  passed, 
there  is  no  true  economy  in  their  continued  work." 

Mather  further  commented  on  the  "cheerful  energy"  of  the 
men.  This  evidently  arose  not  from  gratitude  but  from  rest.  The 
peak  of  gratitude  must  have  been  reached  on  the  very  first  day 
of  the  experimental  year.  The  peak  of  energy,  as  piecework 
earnings  indicate,  was  not  reached  till  toward  the  end  of  it. 

Ernest  Abbe  studied  loyalty  and  effort  in  the  Zeiss  plant  at 
Jena.  He  observed  that  the  increase  of  speed  under  the  eight- 
hour  system  was  almost  involuntary.  "The  workers,  most  of 
them,  were  unconscious  of  their  increased  intensity  of  work. 
Many  would  not  believe  that  they  had  produced  more  in  the 
eight  hours  than  in  nine  until  shown  the  proof.  ' ' 

The  Zeiss  employees  were  genuinely  conscious  neither  of  char- 
ity nor  of  exhaustion.  The  financial  success  of  the  eight-hour 
day  in  the  Zeiss  optical  works  was  due  solely  to  physical  re- 
cuperation. 

During  labor,  as  during  rest,  the  body  attempts  to  destroy  or 
to  expel  the  poisons  of  fatigue.  It  destroys  them  in  the  blood 
itself  and  in  the  liver.  It  expels  them  through  the  kidneys  and 


HOW  FATIGUE  CUTS  PROFITS 187 

through  the  lungs.  During  rest,  the  process  of  purification  gains 
on  the  process  of  pollution.  During  labor,  it  drops  behind.  It 
not  only  fails  to  equal  the  pace  of  the  process  of  pollution  but  it 
slackens  its  own  pace.  A  double  amount  of  pollution  requires 
more  than  a  double  period  of  purification. 

Out  of  this  law  reversed,  scientific  management  has  sleight-of- 
handed  some  of  its  most  magical  offerings  to  American  industry. 

//  you  cut  down  the  amount  of  pollution  by  half,  you  cut  down 
the  required  period  of  purification  by  more  than  half. 

Let  the  flexor  muscle  of  a  human  finger,  harnessed  to  a  weight, 
lift  it  thirty  times.  It  will  then  need  (say)  two  hours  of  rest 
before  it  can  regain  full  vigor.  But  let  it  lift  the  weight  only 
half  as  many  times — fifteen.  Its  required  period  of  rest  will  sink 
not  merely  to  half  of  two  hours,  but  to  thirty  minutes.  In  the 
case  of  a  weight  of  six  kilograms,  the  flexor  muscle,  if  granted 
a  rest  of  ten  seconds  after  each  lift,  " showed  no  fatigue." 

GETTING  THE  MAXIMUM  AMOUNT  OF  WORK 
WITH  THE  LEAST  FATIGUE 

nn  HIS  laboratory  practice  of  men  like  Mosso  and  Maggiora  soon 
became  the  shop  practice  of  men  like  Frederick  W.  Taylor. 

Taylor  made  the  pig-iron  yard  of  the  steel  works  at  Beth- 
lehem, Pennsylvania,  one  of  the  "  historic  spots "  of  this  country. 
The  public  sees  that  pile  of  pigs.  It  sees  the  freight  car.  It 
sees  that  plank.  It  sees  Schmidt  walking  up  the  plank  and  drop- 
ping pigs  into  the  car  at  the  rate  of  121/2  tons  a  day.  It  sees 
Taylor  whispering  to  Schmidt.  And  then  it  sees  Schmidt  walk- 
ing up  the  plank  and  hurling  pigs  onto  the  car  at  the  rate  of 
47%  tons  a  day;  and  its  admiration  for  Taylor  is  swamped  in 
its  sympathy  for  Schmidt. 

Taylor,  however,  in  his  very  first  account  of  the  event,  said  that 
in  order  to  get  Schmidt  to  move  47%  tons  he  had  to  break  him 
of  continuousness  and  teach  him  to  be  ^-continuous.  Taylor 
had  begun,  years  before,  to  try  to  measure  * '  the  tiring  effects  of 
heavy  labor. ' '  He  sought  the  mathematical  relation  between  fa- 
tigue and  the  number  of  foot-pounds  of  work  done.  He  was  often 
frustrated,  but  finally  the  law  emerged. 

Schmidt  was  the  first  distinguished  victim  of  this  law.  The 
mode  of  his  execution  follows :  ' '  When  pig-iron  is  being  handled 


188 MAINTAINING   THE   FORCE 

i 

(each  pig  weighing  ninety-two  pounds),  a  first-class  workman 
can  be  under  load  only  43  per  cent  of  the  day.  He  must  be 
entirely  free  from  load  during  57  per  cent  of  the  day.  As  the 
load  becomes  lighter,  the  percentage  of  the  day  under  which 
the  man  can  remain  under  load  increases. 

"If  now  Schmidt  had  been  allowed  to  attack  the  pile  of  47% 
tons  of  pig-iron  without  guidance,  he  would  have  tired  himself 
out  by  11  or  12  o'clock.  By  having  a  man,  however,  who  un- 
derstood this  law  direct  his  work  until  he  acquired  the  habit  of 
working  at  proper  intervals,  he  was  able  to  work  without  unduly 
tiring  himself. ' '  Hence  the  stern  orders  to  Schmidt :  '  *  Now  pick 
up  a  pig  and  walk.  Now  rest." 

The  Zeiss  optical  works  increased  its  output  by  giving  its 
workmen  recuperation  at  the  end  of  a  shortened  work-day.  Tay- 
lor increased  Schmidt's  output,  in  addition  to  teaching  him 
thrifty  manual  tricks,  by  giving  him  recuperation  at  frequent 
intervals  during  a  work-day  of  the  same  length  as  before.  The 
query,  "What  is  the  right  work-day  length  in  our  industry?" 
calls  up  two  more  recent  American  experiments,  the  one  touch- 
ing quantity,  the  other  quality  of  output. 

In  a  letter  presented  in  evidence  before  the  Committee  on 
Labor  of  the  National  House  of  Representatives,  William  Craw- 
ford, a  monument  manufacturer  of  Buffalo,  said : 

"Just  thirty-two  years  ago  we  commenced  to  keep  a  reeord 
of  the  value  of  each  man  and  the  exact  cost  of  each  piece  of 
work.  This  cost  system  shows  that  the  same  man,  under  identic- 
ally the  same  conditions,  accomplished  more  of  the  same  kind 
of  work  when  he  was  working  nine  hours  than  he  did  when  he 
was  working  ten  hours ;  and,  again,  when  the  hours  were  reduced 
to  eight  hours,  this  same  man  accomplished  still  more  in  an  eight- 
hour  day  than  he  did  in  a  nine-hour  day.  My  observation  is 
that  any  good  granite  cutter  could  do  just  as  much  in  seven 
hours  as  in  eight." 

About  the  same  time  the  Commonwealth  Steel  Company  had 
to  cut  the  hours  of  its  furnace  crew  from  twelve  to  eight  hours 
a  day.  The  results  reported  by  Mr.  Bull  to  the  American 
Foundrymen's  Association  are  principally  in  the  field  of  phys- 
ical exactness.  For  instance,  the  furnace  crew  was  expected  to 
be  economical  in  feeding  "extra"  pig-iron  to  the  furnace  dur- 


HOW  FATIGUE   CUTS  PROFITS      189 

ing  heats.  During  the  last  four  weeks  of  the  old  system  the 
average  amount  of  "extra"  pig-iron  used  during  each  heat  was 
556  pounds.  In  the  first  four  weeks  of  the  new  system  it  was 
424  pounds  and  later  as  low  as  137. 

The  average  amount  of  fuel  oil  used  "per  ton  of  metal 
charged"  came  down  from  55  to  49  gallons  and  the  failures  to 
keep  the  steam  at  its  pressure  from  77  to  42. 

From  these  and  other  tests,  Mr.  Bull  felt  satisfied  that  "a 
careful  comparison  along  the  lines  indicated  would  convince  any 
steel  manufacturer  of  the  wisdom  of  operating  with  three  eight- 
hour  shifts,  purely  from  an  economic  standpoint." 

Mr.  Bull's  demonstration  of  the  effect  of  physical  recupera- 
tion on  physical  exactness  supplements  Schmidt's  demonstra- 
tion of  the  effect  of  physical  recuperation  on  physical  force.  In 
operating  Schmidt,  Mr.  Taylor  established  a  mathematical 
formula  for  the  intervals  of  recuperation  to  be  inserted  into  his 
long  work-day.  If  his  work-day  had  been  shortened  by  an  hour, 
what  would  have  happened?  The  next  day?  The  next  year? 

Schmidt's  work  was  not  of  a  delicate  variety.  It  was  hardy. 
An  extraordinary  fact  about  delicate  work  and  hardy  work 
appeared  in  the  tabulation  of  earnings  of  the  Zeiss  pieceworkers. 
The  last  column  of  the  tabulation  showed  that  the  smallest  in- 
crease in  speed  was  made  by  the  microscope  grinders,  doing 
work  extremely  fine.  The  greatest  increase  was  made  by  the 
carpenters,  doing  work  enormously  coarser.  It  shows,  almost 
uniformly,  that  the  heavier  tasks  jumped  faster  than  the  lighter. 

The  traditional  work-day  is  built  on  the  principle  that  the 
heavier  tasks  need  a  short  work-day  less  than  the  lighter  ones, 
and  respond  to  it  less  quickly.  Clearly  the  present  is  no  time 
for  tradition  nor  for  dogmatism.  Fatigue  varies  from  task  to 
task.  The  recuperation  periods  vary.  The  work-day  will  vary. 
Its  one  fixed  element  will  be  possibly  the  sustained  physical 
condition  of  the  worker. 

The  work  of  the  physiologist  and  the  work  of  the  engineer  have 
come  together.  It  is  only  by  experiment  in  each  industry,  by 
the  transformation  of  each  industry  into  a  laboratory,  that  the 
"efficiency"  work-day  can  be  disclosed  and  the  factory  force 
saved  from  the  drag  of  cumulative  fatigue. 


HOW  BENEFIT  AND  PENSION 
PLANS  OPERATE 


SELF-INTEREST  is  the  basis  on  which  the  most  effective 
appeal  for  service  work  must  rest  with  both  employer  and 
workman.  Here  are  the  two  extremes : 

One  is  an  old  shop,  damp,  poorly  lighted  and  ventilated,  with 
inadequate  toilet  facilities ;  with  its  workmen  forced  through  cir- 
cumstances to  live  in  homes  that  depress  or  even  cause  sickness. 
No  care  is  exercised  to  examine  new  employees,  so  that  tuber- 
culosis, syphilis,  and  other  diseases  are  brought  among  the  work- 
men. Employees  in  this  shop  cannot  work  to  the  best  advantage. 
Who  loses  when  they  are  sick  ?  Both  capital  and  labor,  as  well 
as  society  in  general,  suffer  the  loss. 

The  other  shop  is  one  toward  which  many  believe  self-interest 
leads  us :  light,  dry,  well  heated  and  ventilated ;  with  sanitary 
toilet  facilities,  free  baths,  pleasant  surroundings  and  happy 
homes ;  all  of  which  tend  constantly  toward  happiness  and  cheer- 
fulness. Care  prevents  cases  of  contagious  disease  from  endan- 
gering the  lives  and  happiness  of  other  employees.  Free  med- 
ical, dental  and  aural  service  is  available  for  the  worker  and 
his  dependents,  as  well  as  a  visiting  nurse  to  assist  the  wife  in 
keeping  the  family  in  trim.  To  overcome  local  handicaps,  many 
such  facilities  usually  exist  as  corporation  schools,  libraries,  gar- 
dens and  playgrounds.  Men  living  under  such  conditions  should 
be  working  up  to  the  highest  degree  of  physical  efficiency,  earn- 
ing more  for  themselves  and  for  the  establishment. 

Benefit  and  pension  plans  are  fundamental  in  any  service  pro- 
gram through  which  the  management  would  protect  its  workers 
from  deterioration.  Out  of  some  five  hundred  prominent  manu- 


BENEFITS  AND   PENSIONS 


191 


facturing  establishments  addressed  by  letter  as  to  such  benefits, 
about  twenty-five  per  cent  reported  the  existence  of  benefit  funds. 
In  the  report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Labor,  461  funds  are  enu- 


HOW  PENSION 

PLANS  WORK 

Pension  Age 

Years  of  Service 

Annual  Pension 

I 

1 

I 

.      Commonwealth  Edison      . 
Company 

Class  1  :  55 
"11:60 
•  III  :  65 

Class  1  :  30 
"  II:  15 

"  III  :  15 

For  each  yoar  of  service.M  2%  of 
.  average  annual  pay  during  consecu- 
tive 5  years  when  average  pay  was 
highest 

I 

i 

1 

Public 
Utilities 

American  Telephone  and 
Telegraph  Company 

Males,  60,  or  55 
Females,  55.  or  50 

Malts,  20,  or  25 
Fomalos.15.or20 

For  each  year  of  service,  1%  of 
-    average  annual  pay  for  preceding 
10  years 

1 

1 

* 

American  Express 
Company 

60 

20 

One-half  of  average  annual  pay  for 
-   preceding  10  years,  total  not  to 
eiceed  $500  annually 

1 

1 

i 

-      Sprague,  Warner  t  Co. 

60 

Class  1  :  20-24 
"  II  :  25-29 
"  III  :  30  and  ovor 

Class  1  :  50%     Of  average  annual 
-       -  II  :  55%   •  pay  for  preceding 
-  HI  :  60%      5  years 

I 

I 

i 

Class  1  •-  70 

Class  1  :  25 

For  each  year  of  service,  1%  of 

Industrial 

-   Gorriam  Manufacturing  Co. 

"    II  :  65 
"  ill  :  60 

•  II  :  30 
*  III:  40 

-   annual  wage  paid  at  the  time  of 
enrollment  in  pension  system 

Companies 

1 

$ 

i 

For  each  year  of  service,  2%  of 

Armour  and  Company 

65 

20 

-  annual  wage  paid  at  time  of  enroll- 
ment in  pension  system 

4r 

i 

± 

-  Sherwin-Williams  Company 

TO 

25 

For  each  year  of  service.1%  of 
•   average  annual  pay  for  preceding 
10  years  plus  $10  per  month 

1 

1 

i 

Santa  Fe  Railway  Co. 

65 

15 

For  each  year  of  service.  1-1/4  % 
of  highest  pay  during  any  eonseeu- 
•   live  10  years,  up  to  $50  per  month, 
and  3/4%  of  any  excess  of  such 

average  monthly  pay  ovor  $50 

-    Railroads    - 

I 

I 

1 

-    Union  Pacific  Railroad  Co. 

70 

20 

For  each  year  of  service  1%  of 

preceding  retirement 

I 

1 

1 

.      Buffalo,  Rochester  and     . 
Pittsburgh  Railroad  Co. 

65 

20 

For  each  year  of  service.  2%  of 
average  annual  wage  for  last  10 
years 

FIGURE  XXII :  Ten  representative  plans  for  providing  pensions  for  employees  disabled  by  age 
or  other  causes  are  here  analyzed.  All  are  non-contributory — that  is,  the  company  contributes  the 
entire  fund — except  Armour  and  Company,  who  have  set  aside  $1,000,000  for  pensions  and  in  addi- 
tion, assess  employees  8%  of  their  annual  pay  (assessments  refunded  when  employees  leave). 
A  maximum  and  a  minimum  for  the  annual  pension  are  usually  set,  and  nearly  all  of  the  companies 
reserve  the  right  to  revise  the  rate  in  certain  emergencies 

merated.    From  these  two  sources  the  following  facts  and  figures 
have  been  drawn. 

Preliminary  to  the  establishment  of  a  fund,  the  manager  may 
well  recognize  that  his  cooperation  in  such  directions  as  medical 
work  is  a  great  aid  in  keeping  down  the  cost  of  benefits.  This  co- 


192 MAINTAINING  THE  FORCE 

operation  has  taken  the  form  of  physical  examinations  which 
head  off  serious  illness,  first  aid  service  to  minimize  injuries, 
and  free  medical  consultation,  sometimes  wisely  accompanied 
with  free  medicine  and  a  follow-up  system  to  make  sure  that  the 
patient  observes  instructions.  Out  of  the  461  funds,  twenty  per 
cent  provide  some  such  cooperation.  The  average  disability  per 
member  of  all  funds  was  4.7  days.  Presumably*  this  covers  cases 
resulting  finally  in  death ;  and  for  perhaps  two  dollars  increase 
in  dues,  with  a  slight  addition  while  the  plan  is  becoming  estab- 
lished, medical  service  of  this  sort  could  be  included  in  the 
benefit  plan  itself. 

To  do  so  would  make  the  entire  plan  more  attractive  to  the 
average  employee — and  a  fund  must  have  its  selling  points,  the 
same  as  an  insurance  policy  or  an  article  of  merchandise.  The 
variety  and  amount  of  benefits,  as  well  as  the  duration,  if  made 
attractive  and  clearly  explained,  will  convert  a  large  percentage 
of  the  prospects  into  members  and  boosters.  For  example,  the 
average  temporary  disability  of  all  funds  was  only  22.2  days, 
while  the  predominating  limit  of  benefit  was  thirteen  weeks; 
therefore,  liberality  in  settling  on  the  limit  does  not  represent 
probable  expense  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  weeks  involved. 
A  small  additional  loading  of  dues  will  permit  quite  an  extension 
of  time  limit. 

An  average  death  benefit  of  $210  cost  the  fund  $1.45  per  mem- 
ber for  the  year;  and  as  this  is  based  on  funds  having  318,892 
members,  it  ought  to  be  more  or  less  trustworthy. 

An  average  taken  in  funds  having  65,889  members  disclosed 
the  fact  that  about  fifty  dollars'  benefit  for  the  death  of  a  mem- 
ber's wife  cost  twenty-five  cents  per  year  per  member.  Funds 
with  44,381  members  pay  benefits  for  death  of  other  dependents 
ranging  from  about  ten  dollars  for  a  still-born  child  to  twenty- 
five  dollars  for  an  eighteen-year-old  child;  fifty  for  father, 
mother,  brother  or  sister,  and  one  hundred  dollars  for  a  daugh- 
ter in  charge  of  the  household  of  a  widowed  member,  all  at  an 
average  cost  of  twenty-eight  cents  per  member. 

Statistics  covering  350,000  members  show  that  benefits  for 
temporary  disability  cost  the  funds  an  average  of  $3.42  per 
member.  These  benefits  range  from  twelve  cents  to  fourteen 


BENEFITS  AND   PENSIONS 


198 


FIGURE  XXIII:  How  a  benefit  association  successfully  operated  among  local  plants  in  various 
lines  of  manufacture  for  more  than  a  decade  is  shown  by  this  chart  of  the  benefit  association  among 
the  factories  at  Flint,  Michigan.  The  insured  worker  can  go  from  one  plant  to  another  without  losing 
his  protection.  Under  "Results"  are  shown  the  actual  number  of  cases  of  illness,  accident  smd  death 


194 MAINTAINING  THE  FORCE 

dollars  per  day,  but  one  dollar  was  the  predominating  amount, 
and  thirteen  weeks  the  most  popular  time  limit. 

Taking  into  account  461  funds,  the  members  contributed  an 
average  of  $5.72  and  the  establishments  $1.81  per  member.  Ad- 
ditional revenue  was  earned  by  many  funds  through  entertain- 
ments, investments  and  candy  booths,  and  in  answer  to  a  query 
of  the  Commissioner  of  Labor,  only  1.7  per  cent  admitted  hav- 
ing suffered  financial  straits  of  any  kind,  and  these  were  due  to 
causes  such  as  epidemics.  One  fund  doubled  dues  temporarily, 
while  others  borrowed  or  sought  donations.  The  average  death 
rate  was  6.7  per  thousand  members,  being  less  than  the  general 
death  rate  of  the  country  as  a  whole,  because  only  able-bodied 
men  or  women  are  able  to  gain  or  retain  positions  in  establish- 
ments. 

Various  benefits  for  permanent  disabilities  due  to  loss  of  fin- 
gers, eyes,  hands  or  feet,  may  be  added  apparently  for  a  cost  of 
forty-eight  cents  per  member  per  year.  Of  the  members  of 
funds  providing  for  permanent  disability  benefits,  only  one- 
quarter  of  one  per  cent  received  such  benefits  in  one  year. 

These  benefits  are  found  in  only  twelve  per  cent  of  the  funds 
and  cover  accidents  in  only  two-thirds  of  those  concerns. 

It  would  appear  that,  except  in  hazardous  occupations,  by 
loading  the  dues  of  all  members  with  ten  cents  per  month,  a 
fund  should  give  benefits  for  permanent  disability  and  death  of 
wife  or  other  dependents  with  a  factor  of  safety  of  twenty  per 
cent. 

Theoretically  at  least,  one  dollar  per  month  dues  should  per- 
mit the  following  benefits  for  sickness  or  accidents: 

$1.00  per  day  for  temporary  disability  for  13  weeks. 
$75.00  for  loss  of  a  hand,  foot,  or  eye. 
$200.00  death  benefit. 
$50.00  benefit  for  death  of  wife. 

$25.00  benefit  for  death  of  other  dependents  and  for  free 
medical  service. 

While  this  is  a  crude  estimate,  it  figures  about  fifty  per  cent 
above  the  average  figures  of  all  funds,  and  seems  to  be  fairly 
conservative.  It  should  be  possible  occasionally  to  remit  the 
dues  for  a  month. 

Proportionate  dues  and  benefits  for  other  classes  of  member- 


BENEFITS   AND   PENSIONS 195 

ship  could  be  estimated,  and  probably  members  would  not  be 
hard  to  secure  if  proper  sales-methods  were  adopted  to  show 
the  advantages  available,  as  for  any  other  form  of  protection. 

The  effectiveness  of  the  salesmanship  used  in  starting  such 
plans  is  reflected  in  the  percentage  of  membership  to  number  of 
eligible  employees.  These  percentages  of  efficiency  vary  from 
two  and  one-half  per  cent  in  one  case  to  one  hundred  per  cent 
in  others.  The  membership  in  all  funds  averages  about  forty- 
eight  per  cent.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  where  funds  were 
managed  exclusively  by  employees,  only  thirty  per  cent  were 
enrolled;  where  the  establishment  and  employees  managed 
jointly,  sixty-six  per  cent  were  enrolled ;  and  where  the  manage- 
ment rested  exclusively  with  the  establishment,  seventy-five  per 
cent  were  enrolled. 

One  feature  all  have  to  contend  against  is  the  changing  of 
employees.  Practically  one-third  of  the  342,000  members  changed 
during  the  year,  due  in  ninety-two  per  cent  of  the  cases  to  em- 
ployees leaving  the  establishments.  An  interchange  of  member- 
ship privileges  among  concerns  would  therefore  make  the  benefit 
funds  of  all  more  stable. 

KEEPING  THE  MEMBERS  OF  A  BENEFIT 
ASSOCIATION  ENTHUSIASTIC 

T^IFTEEN  per  cent  of  the  establishments  have  more  or  less 
compulsory  membership  provisions,  and  yet  about  one-quar- 
ter of  these  funds  were  managed  by  employees  alone,  and  one- 
half  jointly,  showing  strong  cooperation  of  these  establishments 
with  the  funds. 

A  much  better  way  than  compulsion  is  to  have  one  or  more 
enthusiastic  men  all  the  time  enlisting  interest.  They  must 
work  either  in  the  background  or,  preferably,  as  secretary  or 
treasurer,  visiting  the  home  and  the  sick,  and  otherwise  getting 
close  to  members  and  their  families.  Often  corporations  supply 
such  men,  bearing  the  cost  themselves. 

While  it  is  desirable  that  the  employees  feel  that  they  are  free 
to  dictate  in  the  management,  still  there  will  be  no  complaints 
from  members  if  the  corporation  man  acting  as,  say,  secretary 
or  treasurer,  is  operating  the  fund  in  the  interests  of  the  mem- 
bers. They  will  soon  determine  whether  he  is  "for  'em  or  agin 


196 MAINTAINING   THE   FORCE 

'em,"  and  that  is  their  principal  concern  in  the  matter.  If  the 
members  feel  they  are  getting  their  money's  worth,  they  will  be 
willing  to  help  boost. 

Old  members  are  in  some  cases^allowed  to  continue  member- 
ship after  leaving  the  establishment,  but  that  plan  seemingly  has 
not  been  a  huge  success.  Such  members  often  leave  town  or 
engage  in  more  hazardous  occupations;  also  they  are  too  hard 
to  keep  track  of,  when  drawing  benefits,  without  an  organization 
much  more  elaborate  than  most  funds  require  for  regular  mem- 
bers. 

One  harness  factory  with  forty-five  employees  has  a  flourish- 
ing association  of  thirty-one  members  (sixty-nine  per  cent). 
Dues  are  twenty-five  cents  per  month,  but  in  one  year  were  re- 
mitted for  ten  months.  They  pay  five  dollars  per  week  tem- 
porary disability  benefit  from  the  treasury  and  cover  death  ben- 
efit by  an  assessment  of  one  dollar  per  member.  The  association 
received  no  financial  aid  from  the  establishment.  With  such  a 
showing  they  should  have  been  even  better  supported  by  the 
workers. 

Ten  establishments  each  with  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  em- 
ployees have  funds  averaging  eighty-three  per  cent  in  member- 
ship. The  average  dues  in  these  funds  are  less  than  fifty  cents 
per  month,  and  the  benefits  about  one  dollar  per  day.  Death 
benefits  range  from  fifty  dollars  to  one  hundred  dollars. 

Flint,  Michigan,  has  a  fund  endorsed  jointly  by  the  manufac- 
turers, covering  the  employees  of  nearly  all  the  plants.  This 
idea  might  well  be  adopted  in  other  communities,  especially  for 
small  shops  (Figure  XXIII). 

HOW  TO  MAKE  EMPLOYEES  EAGER 
TO  BOOST  THE  MEMBERSHIP 

OOMB  funds  have  a  low  membership  fee  for  a  short  period 
after  employment  begins.  Instead  of  an  assessment  plan, 
which  to  the  member  seems  to  be  working  overtime,  member- 
ships may  also  be  influenced  mightily  by  collecting  dues  slightly 
in  excess  of  actual  needs,  and  remitting  the  dues  at,  say,  Christ- 
mas time.  The  cost  to  the  member  is  the  same  in  either  plan. 

Some  establishments  have  succeeded  in  enrolling  ninety-five 
per  cent  of  their  employees  without  resorting  to  compulsion. 


BENEFITS  AND   PENSIONS 197 

This  has  been  accomplished  by  the  corporation  offering  to  pay 
additional  sick  benefits  of  one  dollar  per  week  when  the  mem- 
bership exceeds  eighty  per  cent,  and  two  dollars  per  week  after 
the  nine-in-ten  mark  is  passed. 

Consequently  every  member  becomes  anxious  to  boost  the 
fund  membership.  Imagine  the  impression  made  upon  a  new 
man  coming  into  a  shop  where  ninety-five  per  cent  of  the  em- 
ployees are  after  him  to  join  the  fund.  He  must  be  favorably 
impressed,  to  say  the  least.  The  best  argument  of  all  is  that 
the  plan  works  and  has  been  working  successfully  for  several 
years  in  a  few  funds.  Ninety  per  cent  voluntary,  moreover,  is 
far  better  than  one  hundred  per  cent  compulsory  membership. 

The  bonuses  need  not  be  the  same  as  quoted  herein,  but  they 
should  be  so  arranged  that  each  member  will  feel  vitally  inter- 
ested in  them  as  his  own,  and  not  put  into  the  treasury  so  that 
they  may  be  lost  sight  of. 

In  comparing  such  funds,  one  will  be  greatly  impressed  by 
the  wide  variations  found  in  dues  and  benefits.  For  example, 
dues  for  first-class  memberships  range  from  $2.60  to  $36.00  per 
year,  with  benefits  somewhat  in  proportion ;  temporary  disability 
benefits  run  from  nothing  to  twenty-five  dollars  per  week,  over 
periods  of  from  five  weeks  to  two  years.  Employees  are  eligible 
to  become  members  at  once  or  at  any  time  within  a  year  after 
employment.  Waiting  time  after  disability  begins  ranges  from 
none  to  fourteen  days ;  death  benefits  vary  from  nothing  to  two 
thousand  dollars.  Some  provide  eligibility  for  death  benefit  to 
new  members,  and  others  require  up  to  three  years'  member- 
ship. Some  funds  have  one  class  of  members  and  others  have 
up  to  eight. 

These  facts  suggest  a  line  of  action  both  for  associations  now 
operating  and  on  new  funds  to  be  established.  Interchange  of 
experience  and  data  is  one  guaranty  of  success.  The  conduct 
of  a  new  benefit  plan  should  be  attended  with  a  study  of  funds 
in  kindred  lines,  and  those  in  charge  should  "feel  their  way" 
until  familiar  with  their  own  conditions. 


XXI        v 

TRAINING  MEN  TO  BE  CAREFUL 


INDUSTRIAL  accidents,  generally  speaking,  are  of  two  kinds : 
the  preventable  and  the  unpreventable.  That  is,  relatively 
speaking,  for  in  the  absolute  all  accidents  are  preventable 
and  practically  a  very  large  per  cent  can  be  obviated.  In  under- 
taking the  solution  of  the  problem  in  any  factory  the  steady 
aim  should  be  to  reduce  to  zero  the  first  class,  as  speedily  as 
possible,  and  to  remove  the  second  from  the  realm  of  the  un- 
preventable. 

In  the  first  class  there  are  two  principal  causes:  (1)  failure 
of  the  management  to  provide  and  maintain  proper  working  con- 
ditions, and  proper  and  efficient  safeguards  upon  dangerous  ma- 
chines and  appliances;  (2)  ignorance  and  carelessness  on  the 
part  of  the  workman. 

The  industrial  plant,  therefore,  which  seriously  takes  up  the 
work  of  accident  prevention,  in  addition  to  providing  proper 
working  conditions  and  genuine  safeguards  upon  machines,  must 
also  educate  its  men  and  inculcate  in  them  habits  of  caution. 
"Safety  first"  becomes  the  rule. 

This  evidently  presupposes  a  definite  plan  of  procedure  and 
the  development  of  a  comprehensive  organization  to  execute  the 
plan.  The  provision  of  adequate  safeguards  is  in  all  cases  im- 
portant; but  of  greater  importance  and  more  difficulty  is  the 
work  of  organization  and  education  without  which  even  the  best 
mechanical  protection  is  futile  to  prevent  most  accidents. 

Safety  appliances  will  be  neglected  in  spite  of  stringent  rules; 
they  may  actually  encourage  greater  carelessness  on  the  part  of 
the  men,  or  result  in  accidents  due  to  the  awkwardness  of  ex- 


With  the  passing  of  the  dinner  pail,  manufacturers  are  finding  it  worth  while  to  make  noon  conditions 
a  relief  to  the  minds  and  bodies  of  their  employees.  Standard  equipment  for  the  noon  meal  is  installed 
m  the  dining  rooms  at  the  Joseph  &  Feiss  ("Clothcraft")  plant  (above),  and  at  the  Western  Electric 
Company  (middle).  Magazines  are  available  at  noon  among  the  General  Electric  apprentices  (below) 


That  better  work  follows  play  has  become  a  principle  for  employees  as  well  as  managers.  How  this 
principle  has  been  observed  is  shown  by  the  reading  room  at  the  National  Cash  Register's  plant,  the 
girls'  athletic  grounds  adjoining  the  Clothcraft  plant  in  Cleveland,  the  outdoor  tank  of  the  Cadbury 
Company  at  Bourneville,  England;  and  the  general  athletic  field  of  the  N.  O.  Nelson  Company 


ACCIDENT    PREVENTION 201 

cessive  caution.  To  induce  in  the  mind  of  the  worker  just  the 
right  attitude  toward  safety  is,  therefore,  a  task  that  demands 
of  the  manager  not  only  tact  and  persistence,  but  also  a  nicely 
balanced  judgment. 

In  dealing  with  this  educational  phase,  the  organization  as  it 
exists  in  the  United  States  Steel  Corporation  and  the  Illinois 
Steel  Company — a  subsidiary  of  the  corporation — will  be  used  as 
a  guide. 

For  a  number  of  years  the  steel  corporation,  with  its  sub- 
sidiaries, has  been  carrying  on  an  active  campaign  for  accident 
prevention.  Covering  the  entire  corporation  is  a  committee  of 
safety  composed  of  the  general  solicitor,  who  acts  as  chairman, 
the  manager  of  the  bureau  of  safety,  relief,  sanitation  and  wel- 
fare, who  acts  as  secretary,  and  seven  others.  Each  is  a  repre- 
sentative of  one  or  more  of  the  subsidiary  companies. 

This  committee  at  intervals  makes  trips  through  the  several 
plants,  inspecting  conditions  thoroughly  for  safety.  Quarterly 
it  meets  to  consider  proposed  safety  devices  and  plans  for  creat- 
ing a  greater  interest,  on  the  part  of  the  workmen,  in  the  move- 
ment. All  serious  accidents  are  given  detailed  consideration 
with  a  view  to  preventing  their  recurrence.  Periodically  this 
committee  issues  bulletins  OR  safety,  sanitation  and  welfare  work 
and  in  general  acts  as  a  clearing  house  for  all  the  companies. 

In  the  Illinois  Steel  Company  there  is  a  similar  committee, 
called  the  central  committee  of  safety,  which  covers  all  the 
plants  of  this  company,  has  general  supervision  of  all  safety 
work  and  acts  as  a  clearing  house  for  safety  ideas.  This  com- 
mittee is  composed  of  the  general  attorney  of  the  company,  who 
acts  as  chairman;  his  assistant  in  the  legal  department,  who 
handles  accident  matters;  the  assistant  general  superintendent; 
the  safety  engineers  of  all  of  the  plants;  and  the  manager  of 
the  safety  and  relief  department,  who  acts  as  secretary.  Meet- 
ings are  held  monthly.  All  accidents  are  considered  which  are 
in  any  way  serious  or  from  which  a  lesson  can  be  drawn,  and 
if  possible,  steps  are  taken  to  prevent  a  recurrence.  Safety  de- 
vices and  plans  to  interest  the  men  are  discussed.  These  may 
originate  in  the  committee,  or  be  referred  to  it  by  plant  commit- 
tees, or  come  from  other  subsidiary  companies  through  the  gen- 
eral committee  of  the  corporation  (See  page  203). 


202 MAINTAINING  THE  FORCE 

To  assist  this  committee,  special  subcommittees  are  from  time 
to  time  appointed,  to  investigate  and  report  on  special  hazards 
which  are  too  technical  for  the  committee  as  a  whole  to  handle 
adequately.  The  membership  of  tjbese  committees  is  confined  to 
engineers,  or  master  mechanics  or  department  superintendents 
who  have  expert  knowledge  of  the  matter  under  consideration. 

The  central  committee  has  issued  books  of  rules  and  specifi- 
cations, standardizing  safety  devices  and  regulating  operations 
from  a  safety  viewpoint.  Monthly  it  publishes  safety  bulletins 
properly  illustrated  with  cuts  showing  how  accidents  happen 
and  how  they  may  be  prevented,  with  pictures  of  safety  devices, 
together,  if  possible,  with  a  photograph  of  the  inventor. 

Then  in  each  plant  of  the  company  there  is  a  plant  committee 
of  safety,  which  is  composed  of  the  assistant  general  superin- 
tendent, who  acts  as  chairman ;  the  safety  engineer,  who  acts  as 
secretary;  and  two  or  more  department  superintendents.  This 
committee  has  general  jurisdiction  over  safety  matters  in  that 
plant.  It  meets  monthly  and  the  date  of  the  meeting  is  at  least 
one  week  in  advance  of  that  of  the  central  committee.  When  a 
serious  accident  occurs  in  the  plant  the  committee  in  a  body 
visits  the  scene  at  once  and  makes  a  thorough  investigation.  At 
the  monthly  meetings  not  only  these  accidents,  but  accidents  in 
other  plants  of  the  company  are  taken  up.  All  recommenda- 
tions, from  whatever  source,  also  are  considered  and  a  complete 
report  sent  to  the  central  committee. 

Each  department  of  the  plant  also  has  its  permanent  safety 
committee,  composed  of  foremen  and  leading  workmen  who  are 
selected  because  of  capacity,  force  of  character  and  ability  to 
lead  and  influence  their  men.  The  chief  duty  of  the  members 
of  this  committee  is  to  make  monthly  inspections  of  their  own 
department,  recommending  to  the  department  superintendent 
safety  devices  and  plans  for  preventing  accidents.  A  copy  of 
their  recommendations  is  sent  to  the  safety  engineer,  as  the  sec- 
retary of  the  plant  committee,  and  by  him  is  presented  at  the 
next  regular  meeting  of  that  committee,  together  with  a  report 
as  to  action  taken  thereon. 

The  department  committee  also  investigates  all  accidents  oc- 
curring in  the  department,  reporting  to  the  superintendent — 
with  a  copy  to  the  secretary  of  the  plant  committee — how  the 


ACCIDENT  PREVENTION 203 

HOW  ONE  COMPANY  HAS  ATTACKED 
THE  ACCIDENT  PROBLEM 

I.  Organization  (Value  45%). 

A.  Executives. 

Attitude  most  important.     Unless   executives  are  imbued 
with  safety  idea,  efforts  bear  little  fruit. 

B.  Safety  Committees. 

1.  Central.     Composed  of  General  Attorney,  Assistant  Gen- 

eral Attorney,  Assistant  General  Superintendent,  Plant 
Safety  Engineer,  Manager  Safety  and  Eelief  Depart- 
ment. 

2.  Works  or  Plant.     Composed  of  Assistant  General  Super- 

intendent, Safety  Engineer  and  two  or  more  depart- 
ment superintendents. 

3.  Departmental.     Composed  of  foremen  and  leading  work- 

men. 

C.  Inspections. 

1.  Safety  Engineer.     Inspects  all  departments  constantly. 

2.  Safety   Committees.     Inspect  own   department  monthly. 

3.  Special  Committees.     Investigate  special  conditions. 

4.  Individual  Workmen.     Each  workman  keeps  an  eye  on 

himself. 

II.  Education  (Value  30%). 

A.  Rule  Books. 

Each  workman  on  entering  employ  receives  one  of  these. 

B.  Instruction. 

Foreman  instructs  each  new  man  thoroughly  in  his  duties. 

C.  "Safety  First"  Buttons. 

Given  to  each  man  upon  passing  examination  on  rule  book. 

D.  Prizes. 

Given  to  individuals  in  departments  as  a  reward  for  effect- 
ing reductions  in  ratio  or  number  of  accidents. 

E.  Bulletin  Boards. 

Maintained   at   various   points  within   and   without   plant. 

F.  Safety  Dinners. 

Promote  fellowship  spirit,  increase  enthusiasm  for  safety. 

G.  Safety  Lectures. 

Illustrated    by    motion    pictures.      Families    may    attend. 
H.  Discipline. 

Administered  as  recommended  by  department  committees. 

III.  Safeguards  (Value  25%). 

A.  Installation. 

1.  Inspections.     By  safety  engineers, 

2.  Drafting  Boom.     Draftsmen  have  safety  standards  to 

follow  and  all  drawings  must  be  checked  for  safety. 

3.  Purchasing.     Requisitions  for  new  equipment  must  spec- 

ify safety  and  are  checked  for  this. 

4.  Construction    Department. 

B.  Maintenance. 

C.  Use  of. 

1.  Education.     To  teach  respect  for  safeguards. 

2.  Inspection.     To  see  that  guards  are  working  properly. 

3.  Discipline.     To  deal  rigorously  with  all  offenders. 


204 MAINTAINING  THE  FORCE 

accident  happened ;  what  in  their  opinion  can  be  done  to  prevent 
a  similar  accident;  who,  if  anyone,  they  think  was  negligent, 
and  what  discipline  they  recommend  being  meted  out  to  the 
blameworthy  person. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that,  reaching  from  the  smallest  depart- 
ment in  a  plant  to  the  general  safety  committee,  there  is  a  closely 
knit  organization  cooperating  for  accident  prevention.  Safety 
propositions  originating  in  the  safety  committee  of  a  subsidiary 
company  are  passed  through  the  general  committee  of  the  cor- 
poration to  the  central  committees  of  other  subsidiary  com- 
panies, and  by  each  such  committee  are  passed  on  to  the  plant 
and  department  committees. 

Even  in  the  smallest  plants!  it  is  possible  to  appoint  at  least 
two  or  three  leading  foremen  or  workmen  on  committees,  who 
will  do  very  efficient  work  and  in  a  way  fill  the  place  of  a  safety 
engineer,  the  employment  of  whom  would  not  be  practicable. 
In  small  plants  the  personnel  of  such  a  committee  could  be 
changed  from  time  to  time  and  membership  ultimately  be  ro- 
tated throughout  the  entire  working  force.  These  committees 
report  directly  to  the  management,  when  the  plant  is  small,  and 
where  used  have  given  very  valuable  service. 

EDUCATING  WORKMEN  TO  GUARD 
AGAINST  ACCIDENTS 

HP  HE  element  of  education  in  accident  prevention  work  is  one 
which  cannot  be  controlled  by  compulsion  or  by  legislation, 
and  must  be  the  result  of  a  well-organized  effort  and  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  fine  company  spirit  throughout  the  plant. 

Reliable  statistics  show  that  at  well-safeguarded  industrial 
plants,  from  eighty-five  to  ninety  per  cent  of  the  accidents  which 
occur  are  caused  by  the  carelessness  or  ignorance  of  the  men 
themselves,  and  that  even  in  plants  not  so  well  protected  the  per- 
centage of  accidents  so  caused  is  very  large.  It  therefore  fol- 
lows that  while  safeguarding  arrangements  are  absolutely  essen- 
tial to  any  satisfactory  safety  work,  the  problem  of  the  education 
of  the  men,  and  the  inculcation  in  them  of  habits  of  caution,  is 
even  more  important.  The  burden  therefore  rests  largely  upon  the 
plant  superintendent  and  his  department  superintendents  and 
foremen. 


ACCIDENT    PREVENTION 


205 


The  attitude  of  the  superintendent  and  the  foreman  toward 
the  prevention  of  accidents  will  be  reflected  by  the  workmen 
just  as  accurately  as  their  attitude  toward  the  getting  out  of 
production  is  reflected.  If  the  superintendent  treats  safety  mat- 


Notjc.  to  Employe. 


Small  neglect.  are  apt  to  c«se  • 

accidents. 


Notice  to  Employe* 

Be  sure  everything  ,ssafe,thengoahead 


Notice  to  Employe. 

One  man's  effort,  toward  s.fet>  may  seem 
;1||,  hut  nil  together  can  do  a  frroat  cleat 


No«ee  to  Employe. 


Notice  to  Employe* 

Try    to    avoid    accidents.    This   means 
I-'-HT  


Notice  to  Employe. 

Use    safety    devices    where    provided. 
Don't  take  *  chance. 


Notice  to  Employe. 

Every-  mjury,  no  matter  how  slight,  should 
ccive  proper  medical  attend 


Notice  to  Employe* 

Help  us  prevent  accident.. 


The  prevention  of  accidents  and  injuries, 
by  all  possible  means,  is  a  personal  duty 
which  ever}  workman  owes,  not  to  himself 
alone,  but  also  to  his  fellow  workmen. 


"<">ce  to  Employe, 
El«y  effort  for  «fe<y,,e, 


Do  not  go  into  dnngcrous  places  until  you 
are  absolutely  sure  they  are  safeguarded;  also 
prevent  anyone  from  going  until  this  is  shown 
to  be  a  fact. 


FIGURE  XXIV:  Cards  of  different  colors  bearing  printed  warnings  and  safety  advice,  are  inserted 

in  the  pay  envelopes  of  an  eastern  company  on  alternate  weeks  as  part  of  its  education  in  safety. 

The  cards  are  issued  by  an  accident  prevention  committee  which  meets  weekly  and  discusses  the 

causes  of  every  reported  injury  to  person  or  property  during  the  previous  six  days 

ters  lightly  his  assistants  will  treat  them  lightly.  If  he  shows  a 
strenuous  desire  to  have  working  conditions  safe  and  precaution- 
ary rules  observed,  if  he  makes  the  prevention  of  accidents  one 
of  the  most  important  features  of  his  department,  then  his  fore- 


206 MAINTAINING  THE  FORCE 

men  will  reflect  that  feeling  and  will  see  that  the  men  observe 
the  precautions  which  are  known  to  be  necessary  to  the  preven- 
tion of  accidents.  The  leaven,  therefore,  must  begin  its  work 
at  the  top  and  work  downward  to  -the  men. 

There  are  many  different  ways  in  which  this  problem  may  be 
attacked:  by  requiring  the  observance  of  concise  and  well  de- 
veloped rules  for  safety  in  operation  as  well  as  by  the  consistent 
use  of  all  safety  devices;  by  keeping  the  subject  of  safety  con- 
stantly before  the  eyes  and  in  the  minds  of  the  men;  and  by 
endeavoring  to  obtain  the  hearty  cooperation  of  the  men,  to  the 
end  that  each  may  constitute  himself  his  brother 's  keeper. 

In  carrying  on  an  organized  educational  campaign  in  the  Illi- 
nois Steel  Company,  many  schemes  have  been  evolved.  In  the 
first  place,  all  men  are  engaged  through  employment  bureaus, 
and  when  hired  are  given  a  book  of  safety  rules,  printed  in 
their  own  language.  Later,  they  are  examined  by  their  fore- 
men, at  a  period  not  longer  than  seven  days  after  beginning 
work,  as  to  their  knowledge  of  these  rules  and  their  understand- 
ing of  their  work  and  how  to  avoid  the  dangers  thereof. 

In  a  similar  booklet,  entitled  "To  the  New  Man,"  the  C.  & 
N.  W.  Railway  Company  says : 

"We  hope  you  may  be  able  to  say  at  the  end  of  many  years' 
service,  *  I  was  never  injured  and  no  one  was  ever  injured  through 
my  fault. '  ' '  Another  paragraph  reads :  * '  Remember,  it  takes  less 
time  to  prevent  an  accident  than  to  report  one."  And  the  final 
admonition  is,  "In  case  of  doubt  adopt  the  safe  course." 

Among  the  schemes  the  Illinois  Steel  has  used  are  competition 
between  plants  and  departments  for  better  accident  records; 
prizes  for  records  in  accident  prevention,  "Boost  for  Safety" 
cigars,  "Safety  First"  bulletin  boards,  "Safety  First"  dinner 
and  lectures,  "Boost  for  Safety"  buttons  given  to  each  man  upon 
passing  his  examination  in  the  safety  rules,  illuminated  gate  signs 
at  plant  entrances  displaying  safety  rules  and  sermonettes  and 
monthly  safety  bulletins. 

The  greater  the  proportion  of  low-grade  and  non-English 
speaking  help,  the  more  elaborate  must  be  the  employer's  plans. 
One  idea  which  is  being  applied  with  considerable  success, 
through  the  cooperation  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  is  to  combine  instruc- 


ACCIDENT  PREVENTION 207 

tion  in  safety  and  in  English.     Words  are  used  which  apply 
to  operations  in  which  the  men  daily  are  engaged.    For  instance, 
in  the  lessons  to  workers  in  a  foundry,  the  words  "spill"  and 
"will  burn"  are  emphasized  in  sentences  like  these: 
SPILL — I  must  not  spill  the  iron. 
WILL  BURN— Spilled  iron  will  burn  my  feet. 

Whenever  possible  the  instructor  acts  out  the  sentence. 

A  red  bull's-eye  has  widely  been  adopted  as  a  safety  emblem 
which  speaks  all  languages  and  is  printed  on  every  safety  device 
or  danger  sign. 

An  effort  is  also  made  to  carry  this  movement  into  the  homes 
and  churches,  asking  the  clergy  to  help.  At  one  plant  a  banquet 
was  given  to  the  clergy  of  the  town,  where  illustrated  talks  on 
safety  were  given,  and  it  proved  to  be  a  very  attractive  and  ben- 
eficial  meeting.  In  one  town  which  is  essentially  manufactur- 
ing, they  have  instituted  a  "Safety  Sunday"  in  the  churches. 
Lectures  on  safety  also  are  given,  in  some  cases  illustrated  by 
moving-picture  films  which  have  been  carefully  prepared  to 
drive  home  the  lesson  of  some  sad  accident  due  to  a  working- 
man  " taking  a  chance."  To  these  lectures  the  children  and 
women  are  often  invited,  as  managers  have  found  that  to  get 
the  families  of  the  workers  interested  in  accident  prevention  is 
to  bring  to  bear  a  very  effective  outside  influence.  When  mother 
sees  the  chances  that  father  daily  runs,  she  can  be  counted  upon 
to  take  him  rigorously  to  task  for  his  acts  of  recklessness. 

"Watch  your  step;"  "It  is  better  to  cause  a  delay  than  an 
accident;"  "Always  play  safe;"  "Safety  first;"  "Never  the 
same  accident  twice ;  ' '  are  some  of  the  slogans  which  managers 
enforce  upon  the  attention  of  their  workmen  at  every  possible 
opportunity — put  up  on  placards  about  the  factory,  weave  into 
the  safety  literature,  interject  in  talks  in  meetings  of  workers, 
put  on  pay  envelopes  (Figure  XXIV),  flash  on  screens  at  night 
where  workmen  pass. 

Human  nature  is  fallible.  Responsible  foremen  will  at  times 
be  careless  in  selecting  the  proper  and  safe  method  of  perform- 
ing the  work.  A  workman  will  do  the  wrong  thing  at  a  critical 
moment,  or  in  the  overconfidence  of  long  association  will  grow 
careless  in  the  handling  of  his  machine  or  the  performance  of 


208 MAINTAINING   THE  FORCE 

his  task,  and  the  accident  follows,  causing  injury  to  himself  and 
others. 

It  is  also  often  difficult  to  overcome  the  prejudice  and  opposi- 
tion of  the  men  themselves  and  cause  them  to  realize  the  impor- 
tance of  utilizing  safety  devices  provided,  or  exercising  the 
proper  degree  of  care  for  their  own  or  others'  safety.  In  the 
placing  of  workers,  safety  is  therefore  a  prime  consideration. 
Reckless  men  are  either  to  be  put  where  they  can  do  themselves 
or  their  fellow-workers  no  harm,  or  they  are  discharged. . 

Evidently,  therefore,  while  safeguards  in  general  are  essential, 
yet  by  far  the  most  important  element  in  the  successful  preven- 
tion of  accidents  is  the  elimination  of  carelessness. 

Constant  education  and  instruction  and  the  most  drastic  of 
disciplinarian  measures  are  the  only  weapons  available.  Eternal 
vigilance  is  the  price  of  safety,  and  education  in  habits  of  cau- 
tion is  the  fundamental  requisite  in  any  industrial  plant  which 
seeks  to  do  effective  work  in  accident  prevention. 


XXII 

KEEPING  WORKERS  IN 
CONDITION 


MEN,  not  materials,  are  the  finished  product  of  a  factory." 
Thus  epigrammatically  did  Frederick  W.  Taylor  express 
his  philosophy  of  management.  In  the  final  analysis, 
Taylor  believed,  the  products  of  a  factory  reflect  accurately  the 
character  of  the  organization.  High  standards  of  workmanship 
imply  high-grade  workmen.  And  in  striving  for  higher  stand- 
ards, men  necessarily  are  perfected.  With  the  factory  force, 
therefore,  as  with  the  vigorous,  effective  executive,  keeping  in 
condition — permanent,  not  intermittent  reform — is  of  prime 
importance.  If  production  schedules  and  standards  of  quality 
are  unfailingly  to  be  satisfied,  the  organization  must  achieve  and 
hold  a  fighting  edge,  so  that,  as  a  unit  and  individually,  it  can 
deliver  its  full  and  best  efforts  day  in  and  day  out. 

The  process  of  keeping  a  force  in  trim  mentally,  physically 
and  in  spirit  is  often  called  welfare  work.  Service  work  is 
the  less  intrusive  term  adopted  by  the  Joseph  &  Feiss  Company, 
whose  activities  in  behalf  of  the  all-around  development  of  their 
working  people  in  many  respects  set  the  standard  among  the 
many  concerns  which  are  nowadays  finding  it  good  business  to 
look  after  the  health,  the  education,  the  social  life  and  the  pros- 
pects of  employees. 

How  important  the  Joseph  &  Feiss  Company  regards  such  work 
is  shown  by  the  fact  that  the  head  of  the  service  department- 
known  generally  as  the  superintendent  of  service — has  powers 
second  only  to  those  of  the  general  manager  himself,  and  is  one 
of  the  highest  salaried  persons  in  the  organization.  Employ- 
ment, discipline,  dismissal,  training,  health,  recreative  activities 


210 MAINTAINING  THE  FORCE 

— all  are  under  the  immediate  direction  of  this  department.  In 
charge  is  a  woman  who  is  a  college  graduate  and  who  previous 
to  coming  to  the  company  was  engaged  in  teaching  and  library 
work.  Realizing  that  the  success  #f  this  work  depended  very 
largely  on  the  directing  personality,  the  management  spared  no 
effort  to  obtain  the  best  possible  talent  and  spent  months  in  the 
search.  A  large  proportion  of  the  Clothcraft  workers  are  women, 
and  one  of  their  own  sex  practically  is  required  to  deal  success- 
fully with  them.  The  men  of  the  organization,  however,  have 
responded  almost  equally  well  to  the  superintendent's  influence. 

A  worker  comes  in  contact  with  the  service  department  first 
when  he  is  seriously  considered  as  an  applicant  for  engagement. 
The  head  of  the  department  personally  conducts  the  interview. 
Her  special  effort  is  directed  toward  learning  the  attitude  of 
the  prospective  employee  and  his  general  fitness  for  the  organ- 
ization. 

The  applicant  next  is  thoroughly  informed  as  to  the  conditions 
of  employment.  Medical,  ocular  and  dental  examinations  are 
required  on  occasion,  at  the  expense  of  the  management.  The 
foreign-speaking  applicant  must  also  pledge  himself  to  acquire 
English  as  quickly  as  possible.  This  rule  is  inflexible,  as  a  good 
working  knowledge  of  the  language  in  which  the  business  of  the 
plant  is  carried  on  is  deemed  a  prime  essential  to  the  worker 
who  is  to  grow  into  the  business. 

By  special  arrangement  with  the  Cleveland  Board  of  Educa- 
tion, instruction  in  English  is  provided  at  the  factory  itself. 
Classes  meet  on  alternate  days  between  the  hours  of  4:30  and 
5:30.  In  addition,  the  foremen  are  especially  instructed  to 
encourage  the  use  of  English  during  working  hours,  and  care  is 
exercised  in  assigning  places  at  the  dining  tables  not  to  seat 
together  persons  of  the  same  nationality.  The  head  of  each 
table  always  is  an  English-speaking  person  chosen  for  his  knack 
of  engaging  everyone  in  the  conversation. 

A  gratifying  result  of  the  emphasis  placed  on  English  has 
been  a  marked  increase  in  the  interest  shown  by  the  American 
boys  and  girls  in  their  foreign-speaking  brothers  and  sisters. 

In  general,  at  the  start  and  throughout  service  with  the  com- 
pany, the  management  and  service  department  tactfully  but 
firmly  discourage  false  ideas  of  dress  and  conduct.  The  appeal 


WELFARE   WORK 


FIGURE  XXV:  When  a  man  is  injured  much  depends  upon  the  quickness  with  which  he  may  be 
given  medical  treatment.  Time  means  money — for  in  case  the  company  is  at  fault  and  the  man  dies 
because  of  lack  of  immediate  treatment,  the  damages  may  more  than  pay  for  a  hospital  like  this  one 
at  the  plant  of  the  Western  Electric  Company.  It  contains  complete  departments  for  the  examination 
of  applicants,  and  the  care  of  employees  during  illness  and  following  accidents 


212 MAINTAINING  THE   FORCE 

it  made  directly  to  the  pride  of  the  individual  not  to  counte- 
nance any  practice  that  is  debilitating  or  retards  development. 
"Clothcraft  people  do  this- — avoid  that,"  the  newcomer  learns. 
Thus  shop  opinion  spurs  the  workerto  cooperate  with  the  man- 
agement in  his  development. 

DISPENSARY  AID  AND  INSTRUCTION  THAT  MAINTAINS 
THE  HEALTH  OF  THE  EMPLOYEES 

1FURTHER  than  the  courtesies  and  the  instruction  which  put 
the  worker  at  his  ease  and  in  position  to  get  ahead  as  his 
ability  warrants,  the  most  obvious  occasion  for  service  work 
comes  by  way  of  the  dispensary.  The  plant  has  a  well-equipped 
consultation  room,  with  an  examination  table,  a  dental  chair  and 
cabinet,  eye-charts  and  lenses,  and  a  nurse's  desk  and  couch. 
A  nurse  is  in  constant  attendance.  Two  mornings  a  week  a  phy- 
sician is  on  hand  for  consultation,  one  morning  a  week  a  dentist, 
and  another  an  oculist.  All  this  is  free  of  expense  to  the  work- 
ers, and  if  a  needle  accident  necessitates  a  visit  to  the  doctor's  ' 
office  or  an  X-ray  photograph  at  a  hospital,  the  firm  also  bears 
this  expense.  The  dentist  gives  prophylactic  treatments,  and 
recommends  as  to  repair  work,  on  which  he  allows  a  discount 
at  his  own  office.  The  oculist's  services  are  free,  and  by  special 
arrangement  glasses  may  be  had  at  a  liberal  discount. 

Adjoining  the  dispensary  are  two  rooms  containing  cots. 
These  are  for  the  accommodation  of  those  who  may  become  indis- 
posed during  working  hours.  Minor  ailments  or  accidents  are 
treated  by  the  nurse.  Some  simple  medicines  are  kept  on  hand, 
but  are  used  sparingly. 

As  accidents  are  rare,  the  dispensary  devotes  its  energies 
chiefly  to  preventive  measures.  The  nurse  is  on  duty  every 
day,  but  many  of  her  afternoons  are  spent  in  home  visiting. 
When  a  worker  is  reported  ill,  she  follows  the  case  and  is  alert 
to  see  that  he  receives  proper  attention  and  is  safeguarded 
against  unscrupulous  practitioners.  Every  morning  she  and  the 
service  head  go  over  the  list  of  absentees  and  decide  whom  to 
visit.  If  she  finds  an  absence  unwarranted,  she  reminds  the 
absentee  that  irregular  attendance  is  a  cause  of  hardship  to  the 
other  workers  on  the  same  operation,  and  to  the  organization — 
a  form  of  selfish  disregard  for  the  rights  of  others.  If  the  nurse 


WELFARE   WORK 


has  not  visited  the  absentee,  on  returning  to  work  he  will  first 
report  to  the  head  of  the  service  department  and  must  give 
satisfactory  reason.  Anyone  who  is  out  for  good  cause  is  as- 
sured his  own  .place  or  another  equally  good. 

A  large  part  of  the  nurse's  service  is  to  teach  the  workers 
the  value  of  observing  ordinary  rules  of  right  living.  She 
" talks  fresh  air"  for  the  sleeping  room  as  well  as  at  work,  fre- 
quent bathing,  proper  diet,  sensible  clothing,  regular  exercise, 
avoidance  of  overtaxing  the  strength  by  heavy  work  at  home 
and  the  bad  effects  of  worry.  The  company  furnishes  for  free 
distribution  special  pamphlets  on  various  health  topics,  such  as 
"Habits  of  Health,"  "Colds  and  Their  Prevention"  and  "The 
Successful  Woman." 

Working  conditions  receive  equally  detailed  attention.  The 
sanitary  facilities  in  particular  most  zealously  are  maintained. 
Ventilation,  lighting  and  janitor  service  come  under  the  service 
superintendent's  care.  A  man  is  kept  busy  constantly  renewing 
the  wall  finish,  so  that  the  workrooms  always  will  be  fresh  and 
cheerful. 

This  care  in  the  maintenance  of  the  premises  inevitably  has 
its  effect  on  the  occupants.  Foreigners  who  have  been  notice- 
ably remiss  have  been  observed  to  respond  quickly  in  personal 
appearance  and  home  conditions  to  the  influence  of  a  clean  fac- 
tory and  fellow  workers  who  already  have  learned  to  take  pride 
in  personal  neatness. 

The  sanitary  equipment  includes  a  number  of  shower-baths 
which  the  operatives  may  use  during  working  hours  and  many 
avail  themselves  of  the  opportunity. 

In  dining  rooms  provided  separately  for  men  and  women,  the 
company  furnishes  hot  soup  at  two  cents  a  bowl,  coffee  and  tea 
at  a  cent  a  cup,  milk  at  two  cents  a  glass,  box  lunches  at  ten 
cents,  and  summer  drinks  in  proportion.  When  the  afternoons 
are  hot  a  worker  may,  if  he  wishes,  go  to  the  "self-help"  counter 
for  ice  cream  or  a  cold  drink  during  working  hours. 

Food  and  diet  afford  a  large  field  for  the  raising  of  standards. 
Many  of  the  workers  need  specific  advice  on  the  kind  of  food  to 
eat  and  its  preparation.  The  dispensary  gives  much  general 
instruction  on  this  subject,  and  it  is  a  very  important  duty  of 
the  service  workers. 


214 MAINTAINING  THE  FORCE 

Noon  hour  exercises  also  contribute  to  the  well-being  and 
effectiveness  of  the  force.  An  ample  playground  adjoins 
the  factory,  where,  in  pleasant  weather,  the  men  play  baseball 
and  quoits,  and  the  girls,  captain  Hball,  indoor  baseball,  three- 
deep,  tag  and  crack  the  whip.  When  the  weather  is  unfavor- 
able, the  workers  adjourn  to  the  recreation  rooms.  There  is 
one  for  each  sex.  "Workers  may  read  or  play  games.  The  late 
magazines  are  kept  on  the  reading  tables.  In  the  girls'  room  cap- 
tain ball  supplies  recreation  even  on  "indoor  days/' 

Every  section  of  the  factory  has  its  ball  team  for  both  men 
and  women,  and  the  scheduled  games  occur  on  the  playgrounds 
sharply  at  4 :30,  when  work  ceases  for  the  day. 

Certain  days  and  seasons  bring  up  various  other  activities  that 
keep  mind  and  body  vigorous  for  the  work.  The  burden  of 
keeping  workers  in  condition  is  not  left  to  the  annual  picnic, 
enjoyable  as  it  is.  Every  Wednesday  noon  the  shop  orchestra 
furnishes  the  music  for  a  dance,  in  which  practically  the  entire 
force  take  part.  On  Fridays,  from  4 :30  to  5 :30,  a  choral  club 
of  two  hundred  and  fifty  members  assembles,  under  a  well- 
known  musical  director.  This  work  is  in  anticipation  of  the  an- 
nual concert  in  May.  The  choral  club  affords  one  of  the  most 
popular  activities,  and  does  much  to  promote  good  spirit 
throughout  the  factory.  It  encourages  singing  at  work,  which  is 
a  source  and  sign  of  health,  good  spirits  and  pleasure  in  the 
task. 

HOW  RECREATION  AND  AMUSEMENT  HELP 
TO  MAKE  WORKERS  CONTENTED 

TH  O  round  out  the  social  life  of  the  organization,  the  service 
rooms  of  the  factory  are  thrown  open  on  Wednesday  even- 
ings for  workers'  parties.  The  initiative  lies  with  the  employees. 
Any  section  wishing  to  stay  on  Wednesday  evening  for  supper 
and  entertainment  may  do  so  by  booking  a  date  in  the  office  of 
the  service  superintendent.  Committees  consisting  of  nine  mem- 
bers each  are  then  appointed  by  the  foreman.  These  committees 
are  three — a  committee  on  arrangements,  a  refreshment  commit- 
tee and  an  entertainment  committee ;  and  the  matter  is  entirely 
in  their  hands,  although  the  service  head  stands  ready  to  help  if 


WELFARE   WORK  215 


asked.  Friends  and  relatives  are  welcome  at  these  evening  gath- 
erings. Social  talent  is  encouraged  by  music  and  recitations, 
there  are  pantomimes  and  fortune-telling,  and  the  different  na- 
tionalities always  are  eager  to  dance  their  dances.  Manager, 
superintendents,  foremen  and  their  wives  mingle  freely  with  the 
operatives  on  these  neighborly  occasions.  The  parties  disband 
at  nine  o'clock,  thereby  setting  a  standard  of  proper  hours. 

An  unusual  feature  for  a  factory  is  " Visiting  Day,"  which  is 
the  first  Friday  afternoon  of  each  month.  The  latch-string  then 
is  out  to  the  families  and  friends  of  the  workpeople,  who  are 
encouraged  especially  to  invite  their  parents.  It  is  a  fact  that 
in  every  case  where  a  mother  has  been  induced  to  come  and  see 
under  what  conditions  her  daughter  works,  she  is  in  greater  sym- 
pathy with  the  service  aims.  A  Mother's  Club  is  the  latest  de- 
vice for  winning  over  the  parents  to  the  welfare  program. 

The  "Clothcraft  Penny  Bank"  is  another  remarkably  success- 
ful service  feature.  As  in  the  other  branches  of  the  work,  the 
endeavor  here  is  to  educate  the  people  up  to  right  standards  by 
giving  them  reasons  for  the  standards.  The  majority  will  save 
if  they  once  make  a  beginning  and  frequently  all  that  is  neces- 
sary is  to  convince  them  that  saving  is  a  good  thing.  Often  an 
immediate  object  can  be  improvised  as  the  initial  stimuiue 
Habitual  saving  has  shown  a  decided  stabilizing  effect.  In  cases, 
earning  capacity  has  increased  fully  fifty  per  cent,  as  a  direct 
result.  The  greatest  benefit  obtains  with  operatives  who  hitherto 
have  been  compelled  to  turn  over  their  entire  earnings  at  home, 
but  who  now  are  allowed  to  retain  all  they  can  save  above  a  cer- 
tain amount.  This  margin  is  their  bonus  and  they  work  zealously 
to  have  it  as  large  as  possible. 

From  the  loan  department,  workers  can  borrow  without  in- 
terest up  to  a  limited  amount  in  cases  of  special  necessity.  This 
plan  anticipates  the  loan-shark  evil. 

Believing  that  a  vacation  misspent  is  often  a  serious  detri- 
ment to  the  worker's  efficiency,  the  service  department  even 
interests  itself  in  the  vacation  plans  of  the  people.  The  entire 
work  of  the  factory  is  suspended  during  the  first  week  in  Sep- 
tember, so  that  all  may  have  their  holidays  at  the  same  time. 
For  weeks  in  advance,  the  service  department  urges  the  making 
of  definite  plans.  With  no  suggestion  of  meddling  in  private 


216 MAINTAINING   THE   FORCE 

affairs,  it  nevertheless  keeps  the  recreative  vacation  before  the 
workers  with  posters  and  circulars,  giving  information  on  inex- 
pensive vacation  cottages,  camps  and  trips.  Each  year,  as  a  re- 
sult of  the  "vacation  campaign/'  many  people  go  to  the  woods 
and  beaches  who  have  never  before  been  out  of  the  city. 

A  branch  of  the  city  library  at  the  plant  supplies  the  workers 
with  good  reading.  Once  a  week  a  delivery  of  books  is  made 
and  those  that  no  longer  are  needed  are  returned.  The  service 
department  has  its  tactful  ways  to  encourage  systematic  reading. 
Books  of  travel,  biography,  history,  useful  arts,  as  well  as  fic- 
tion, are  on  the  shelves  and  the  proportion  of  non-fiction  books 
issued  is  surprisingly  large,  A  factory  library  also  is  being 
built  up,  consisting  of  standard  books  and  magazines  on  effi- 
ciency, business  methods  and  management. 

All  the  activities  of  the  service  department  have  for  their 
direct  object  the  improvement  of  the  morals,  minds  and  bodies 
of  the  workers.  While  the  most  direct  benefit  is  to  the  individual 
and  to  society,  the  investment  nets  the  business  good  returns  in 
a  more  stable  and  efficient  working  force. 

"Real  prosperity  rests  on  right  and  just  relationship  and  on 
the  true  development  of  the  workers, "  says  Richard  A.  Feiss, 
general  manager  of  the  Clothcraft  Shop,  in  summing  up  his 
reasons  for  the  rarely  extensive  service  work  carried  on  in  his 
organization.  "That  the  right  attitude  of  mind  is  an  essential 
consideration  in  the  art  of  management,  is  today  well  recog- 
nized. Whatever  contributes  toward  bringing  this  about  is 
worthy  of  the  careful  attention  of  the  management. " 


INDEX 


Absence,  control  of  16,  22 

Accidents,  causes  of  198 

ACCIDENT   PREVENTION 

— classes  of  accidents  198 

— illustrations  of  methods  145,  180 

— necessity  for  educational  campaign     198 

— committees  on  201 

— notices  203,  205 

— educating  workmen  204 

— ways  of  attacking  problem  206 

— slogans  207 

American  Express  Company  172 

Applications,  files  for  48 

Applicants,  books  for  49 

APPRENTICES 

— wage  increases  80 

— shop  discipline  80 

— frequent  small  raises  best  policy            81 

— varied  training  of  82 

— instruction  of  88 

Avery  Company  10,  172 


Ball,  W.  S. 
BENEFIT  PLANS 


B 

64 

— cooperation  of  factories  193 
— cost  figures  193 
— how  to  secure  support  for  195 
— need  of  salesmanship  to  get  started  195 
— securing  members  without  compul- 
sion 196 
Betterment  orders,  for  schedules  124 
Blackboards,  for  schedules  124 
"Blotter"  records,  of  applicants  51 
Bonus  plans  125 
Books,  for  applicants  48 
Boston  Consolidated  Gas  Company  102 
Bourne  Mills,  profit-sharing  plan  147 
BOYS 

— controlling  79 

— sizing  up  applicants  77 
Brooklyn   Edison   Electric  Illuminating 

Company  102 

Burritt,  A.  W.  Company  102 


Cabot  profit-sharing  plan  144 

Cabot,  Samuel  102 

Campbell,  Robert  W.  172 

Card  index,  of  employees  58 

Carnegie  Steel  Company  172 

Chandler,  W.  L.  172 
Chicago  and  North  Western  Railway 

Company  172 

Collaboration  67 

Committees,  on  accident  prevention  201 

Complaints,  records  of  53 

Contract  system,  disadvantages  105 
CONVEYORS 

— to  secure  uniform  speed  178 
COOPERATION  WITH  EMPLOYEES 

— how  to  secure  119 

—meetings  for  176 


Crane  Company  10 

Cutler-Hammer  Company  64 


DAY  WORK 

— blackboard  schedules  of  124 

— in  relation  to  inspection  129 

— plans  to  increase  efficiency  of  123 

Demerit  system  60 

Denison,  C.  H.  10 

Dennison  Manufacturing  Company  102 

Dining  rooms,  illustrations  of  199 

Discontent,  causes  16 

Dispensaries  212 


Eastman  Kodak  Company  102 

Education,  for  accident  prevention  198 

Emerson  wage  plan  117 
EMPLOYEES 

—booklets  for  42 

— housing  bureau  for  44 

— instructions  for  43-47 

— records  of  48-62 
EMPLOYMENT 

— application  blanks  27,  35 

— estimation  of  qualifications  29 

— grouping  workers  84 

— judging  by  hands  20 

— of  technical  men  80 

— physical  examinations  39 

—policies  11-24 

— qualities  to  look  for  83 
—records                                            24,  49-52 

— scientific  tests  82 

— wage  policy  30 


Farr  Alpaca  Company 

FATIGUE 
— experiments 

— in  relation  to  time  worked 
— physiological  considerations 


102 

181 

184 
185 

Fear,"  as  an  incentive  to  production    105,  106 
Felt  and  Tarrant  Manufacturing  Com- 

172 


57 
48 
102 


— for    ex-employees 
— for     applications 
Florence  Manufacturing  Company 


Game  spirit,  means  of  arousing  173-183 

GANG   LABOR  70 

— on  piecework  139 

— separating  nationalities  173 

— wage  system  117 

Gang  operations,  in  relation  to    motion 

study  93 

General  Fireproof  Company  10 

Gilson,  Mary  Barnett  172 

Gisholt  Company  10 

Goldmark,  Josephine  172 


INDEX 


Good  will,  in  relation  to  money  consid- 
erations 66 
Guaranteed  day  rate                                       113 

H 

Hands,  as  means  to  Judge  applicants  '        20 

Hard,  William  172 

Hart-Parr  Company  10 

Health,  instruction  213 
HOSPITALS 

—plans  for  211 

— illustration  of  service  146 

Houghton  Mifflin  Company  102 

Houghton-Mifflin  profit-sharing  plan  141 

House  organs,  as  means  to  secure  loyalty   176 

I 

Illinois  Steel  Company 
Inland  Steel  Company 
INSTRUCTION 

— by  foreman 

— developing  unskilled  workers 

— illustration  of  methods 

— in  health  matters 

— in  the  English  language 

— of  apprentices 

— of  new  employees 

— of  successors 

—of  unskilled  labor 


201 
10 

44,  45 

70 

91 

213 

87 

37.  38,  56 
55 
46 
69 


Joseph  &  Feiss 


10,  64.  172 


LABOR 

— appeals  to  workmen  176 

— arousing  competition  106 

— ruthless  driving  of  105 

— selecting  14 

Labor  saying  109,  110,  127,  128 

Labor  unions,  attitude  toward  efficiency 

systems  120 

Leadership,  importance  of  177 

Loans  215 
Loyalty,  as  incentive  to  production   106,  107 

M 

MANAGEMENT 

— developing  instinct  for  in  workmen     179 

— inventories  12 

— items  in  labor  audits  15 

— relation  to  workmen  13 

Manila  Bureau  of  Printing  102 

Market  rate  basis  of  payment  106 

Marshall  Field  and  Company  102 

Meetings,  to  secure  loyalty  of  workers       175 

Meyers,  Edward  64 

Michigan  Stove  Company  109 

Miller,  Franklin  and  Company  64 

Mir,  Melville  W.  64 

Mothers'  Clubs  215 

Motion  pictures,  illustrations  of  use  92 

MOTION   STUDY 

— formulas  for  effecting  savings  93 

— how  to  approach  the  problem  90 

— importance  of  89 

— margin  for  economy  98 

— of  gang  operations  93 

— savings  effected  89 

— sharing  benefits  of  96 

— steps  in  90 

— time  standards  93 

— unit  operations  94 

— use  of  motion  pictures  96 
Murphy,  Carroll  D.                      10.  102,  17* 


National  Cash  Register  Company  10 

National  Council  of  Industrial  Safety  172 
Nelson,  N.  O.,  Manufacturing  Company  102 
Nelson  profit-sharing  plan  142 


Opportunity,  equalization  of 


88 


178 


Pacemaking  k. 

PAYMENT 

— contract  system  104 
— incentives  to  increase  production        105 

— market  rate  basis  106 

—methods  103 

— objects  104 

— piece  rates  104 

— plans  for  115 

— system    for    non-English  speaking 

employees  170 
PAYROLL 

— records  85 
— system  for  169 
Pension  plans  _     191 
Personal  relationships,  influence  on  busi- 
ness 12 
Personality  11 
Physical  examinations,  of  applicants  58 
Piece  rates  114,  131-140 
PIECEWORK  72 
— applying  system  134 
— causes  of  failure  138 
— effect  on  production  158,  157 
— gang  139 
—prices  for  90,  132 
— value  of  high  rates  139 
Playgrounds  214 
Porter,  Harry  Franklin        10,  64,    102,    172 
PRODUCTION 

— effect  of  guaranteed  piece  rate             136 

— incentives  to  increase  105 
— increase  through  use  of  schedules        125 

Production  control,  tag  system  for  164 

PROFIT  SHARING  141-149 

— Bourne  Mills  plan  147 

— dangers  142 

— fundamental  points  148 

— Houghton  Mifflin  plan  141 

—methods  143 

— Nelson  plan  142 

—results  147 

— time  required  for  success  149 

— when  advisable  149 

— with  customers  142 

Promotions,  seniority  plan  54 


Quit  slips 


53 


RECORDS 

— of  employees'  efficiency 

— of  errors 

— of  piece  work 
RELATIONS 

— between  workers 


48,  53,  60 
60 
169 

13 

— of  management  to  government  control      IS 
dardizing  intervals  of 


Rest,  stan 
Rockwell,  Thomas  S. 


71 
102 


Savings  banks,  for  employees 
Schedule*,  to  control  production 


215 
124 


INDEX 


Simmons,  R.  F.  Company  102 

Simplex  Wire  and  Cable  Company  102 

Slogans,  for  accident  prevention  207 

Standard  of  living,  in  relation  to  wages  112 

Standard  time,  for  piece-work  116 

Standards,  of  shop  work  72 

Stevenson,  Chat  lea  R.  10 


Taylor  system,  wage  plan  117 

Test  sheets,  for  applicants  54 

Thomas,  Leon  I.  10 

Thompson  C.  Bertrand  102 

Time-clocks  160 
TIME 

— fixing  standard  97 

— form  used  for  control  of  161 
TIMEKEEPING 

— check  systems  for  160 

— objects  169 

— system  for  outside  gangs  165 

Time  records  166,  167 

TIME   STUDY 

—determination  of  rates  96 

—use  of  motion  pictures  in  96 

Time-tickets  141,  144,  162 

Timken  Roller  Bearing  Company  172 

Towne-Halsey  premium  plan  114 


u 

Unit  operations  94 

United  States  Steel  Corporation  201 

Universal  Portland  Cement  Company          10 

UNSKILLED  LABOR 

—cost  of  65 

— control  of  75 


Valentine,  Robert  G.  10 

w 

WAGES 

—  analysis  of  earnings  f  1 

—  effect  of  organization  112 

—  efficiency  systems  and  labor  unions  118 

—  efficiency  systems,  when  applicable  122 

—  fair  rate  of  108 

—  gaining    loyalty    through    generous 
policies  129 

—  m    proportion    to    contribution    to 

value  in 

—  in  relation  to  standards  of  living  112 

—  of  unskilled  labor  m 

—  premium  systems  1  13 

—  rate  classifications  169 

—  systems,  purposes  of  113 
WELFARE  WORK 

—  dispensary  aid  and  instruction  212 

—  food  and  diet  213 

—  loans  215 

—  mothers'  clubs  215 

—  playgrounds  214 

—  sayings  banks  215 

—  visiting  days  215 
Wilcox,  H.  M.  64 
WOMEN 

—  arousing  ambition  and  loyalty  in  84 

—  distinction  of  characteristics  83 

—  how  they  may  determine  own  ad- 

vancement 87 

—  training  of  83 
WORKERS 

—  classes  of 

in 


—  developing  ability  i 

—  sources  of 
Working  day,  length  of 


£7 
28 
28 
72,  184,  189 


THIS  BOOK  IS  j 


UNIVERSITY  0F  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


